Presidency apologises for errors in Tinubu’s appointments list, promises update

The Presidency has apologised for the errors in the list of appointments made by President Bola Tinubu since May 29, 2023.

PUNCH reports that the list was to counter the narrative about Tinubu’s alleged lopsided appointments, which was brought to the public by the Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume.

In a recent interview with Arise Television, Ndume, an All Progressives Congress lawmaker, accused the President of violating the federal character principle in his appointments, which the presidency denied.

To counter the allegation, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, on Wednesday released a list of Tinubu’s appointees and their geopolitical zones.

The list showed that the President had appointed 29 people from the South West, his home region, 35 from the North West, 22 from the South-South, 16 from the South East, 25 from North Central and 24 from the North East.

However, the President’s critics have pointed out that the list was not comprehensive, as the name of a major appointee from the President’s home region was missing.

The omission of the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, among others, from the list further strengthened the regional imbalance narrative against Tinubu’s administration, as the list clearly showed that the South East is underrepresented in his government.

As the document sparked debate on social media, Dare took to his X handle on Thursday to apologise for the errors in the list and promised to provide an updated list later.

However, the presidential spokesman did not explain why Gbajabiamila’s name was omitted from the list.

“We have noticed a number of errors in the list of appointments tweeted. We are sorry. We will provide an updated list later. Thank you,” he wrote.