A constitutional lawyer, Ike Ofuokwu, has urged the President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to review the recent appointments made by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The appointments, he said, could not be justified by any one neither is there any political exigency to warrant them.
He urged the incoming administration to nullify any such appointment if found not to be based on merit.
Ofuokwu said: “All these last- minute recruitment and appointments should be reviewed by the incoming Buhari administration and where there is no merit in them, should be cancelled and nullified immediately because they are founded on political considerations.”
The lawyer said some of the appointments were based on political patronage and to reward those who want relevance at all cost and who seek “an agency of government that must pick up their bills for the rest of their lives.”
Ofuokwu, an All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, said he mobilised votes for Gen. Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) during the general elections. He faulted a report in which President Jonathan was quoted as questioning Gen. Buhari’s victory.
He said: “I want to believe that the president was quoted out of context, otherwise it goes further to show the nature and the character of men who ran the affairs of this country for nearly six years.
“Their approach to issues is simply reductionist. It is anachronism to expect that Jonathan would have won in a free and fair election after a-nothing-to-write-home-about outing of nearly six years. ‘’
He continued: “In the first place, let’s put the records straight: there was nothing statesmanly about his conceding defeat and congratulating Gen. Buhari even before the winner was announced. That was the only option he had in an election that humbled him.
“It was only in the imagination of PDP members that they thought that Jonathan could have won that election. It’s therefore a misconception and an abuse of the word to label him a ‘statesman’.
“It was the most inappropriate word to use for him in an election where we are yet to fathom how he got the bogus votes recorded for him in Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom states etc.
“We all saw the turn out in pre-election rallies and there is no way he could have scored what was awarded him in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and in some other states.
“It is simply hypocritical and an afterthought for anybody to question Buhari’s victory. With the exception of the politically nerd, months before the elections, every right thinking person saw the victory coming.
“As a matter of fact it was the shift in date to enable PDP perfect the art of rigging that saved them from what would have been a total humiliation rejection.”
Ofuokwu praised APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for his role in ensuring victory at the polls.
“Like him or hate him, he has indeed proven himself a worthy leader and a consummate politician.
“Even when he could have joined the ruling party with immense benefit, he remained in his own party, built it into a vibrant opposition and transformed it into a national mega brand while other top politicians were busy jumping ship and indulging themselves in political prostitution.
“I recommend that present and aspiring politicians should understudy his political sagacity,” he said.
On his expectations from the incoming APC/Buhari administration, Ofuokwu said: “When you talk of integrity, honesty and resilience, Buhari is a global brand.
“However, I do not envy Buhari/APC at all because they have inherited a near comatose economy, disillusioned people and morally bankrupt workforce that is bereft of any meaningful legacy,” he said.
Among others, Ofuokwu wants the incoming administration to review the sale/privatisation of some public utilities.
“This again lends further credence to the insatiable appetite of the outgoing government to bankrupt this country at all cost with their penchant for primitive acquisition of our common patrimony.
