The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has decried the lopsided appointments under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government.
HURIWA, while responding to the alleged secret recruitment of the Department of State Services, DSS, maintained that the federal character was dead under the Buhari-led administration.
There were reports that DSS had slotted 535 slots to Northerners, while South got 93 candidates in the secret recruitment.
However, the right group condemned the recent lopsided appointment, which tend to favours the Hausa/Fulani Muslims.
The group stressed that the lopsided appointments “offends Federal Character principles since the inception of the current Administration of Muhammadu Buhari.”
The statement was signed by HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko and National Media Affairs, Miss. Zainab Yusuf.
According to HURIWA: “We reiterate that in the last five years, the current administration of Muhammadu Buhari has planted animosity between different ethnic nationalities than even the civil war created and that it will take the Grace of God and the will to overpower our differences for Nigeria to rebuild the bridge of unity that the selective administrative style of President Muhammadu Buhari has destroyed in the last five years.
“We shall continue to express our apprehension over deep seated Northern domination of all strategic federal government’s recruitments and appointments under President Muhammadu Buhari, and that the next government may need to convoke a year-long National Constitutional Conference to try to mend the deeply broken fences.
“We repeat our warning and caution that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has dragged Nigeria back by 60 years because of the prevalence of his regime’s unrepentant penchant for appointing only northerners into top political and economic offices of the federation.
“The recent secret uneven recruitment in the DSS must be canceled so there is a broad spectrum of representation of the diverse interests and groups unless and except we are now being told that the DSS is a Northern Security Service and if that is the case, the basis of one Nigeria is rubbished.
“Fresh appointments to fill vacancies in the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) also created uproar on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s PRO-NORTHERN MOSLEM BENT.
“HURIWA like most Nigerians are not surprised that Senators across party divides were upset immediately Senate President Ahmad Lawan read a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari announcing the nomination of Aisha Umar as the Director-General of PENCOM.”