Buhari is Appointing Southerners & Christians Into Key Positions Lately, This Could Be the Reason

The Nigerian constitution granted enormous power to the president. He has the power to appoint and fire many political and administrative officers such as the service chiefs, inspector general of the police, head of agencies and departments, and many more. The president also has the power to nominate judges which is subject to the confirmation of the senate.


Since President Muhammad Buhari came into office in 2015, he has been appointing and firing appointees in various ministries, departments, and agencies.

Although the constitution provided for federal character principles which he must adhere to when appointing people into offices. The constitution also gave the president an exclusive right to appoint people from anywhere he likes.


Research has shown that President Muhammad Buhari's key and juicy appointments are mainly allocated to the Northern part of the country. For instance, the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Inspector General of Police, Controller General of Customs, Immigration Service Head, National Security Adviser, Director of National Intelligence Agency, and Minister for Defense are from the Northern region.






The Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Minister for Finance and Economy, Director of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Head of Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Accountant General of the Federation are Muslims from Northern part of the country.

Many Nigerians especially the southerners have accused the president of nepotism and favoritism because of his nature of the appointment.

Different ethnic nationality groups from the South like Ohaneze Indigbo and Afenifere also accused him of marginalizing the region due to his lopsided appointment.

Although the Presidency has denied the allegations of nepotism and favoritism leveled against President Buhari by these groups. They recently released the list of President Buhari's appointees since May 2015 which shows that 54% of the appointees are from the South while 46% are Northerners. The reality is that key and juicy seats are mainly reserved for the North while Southerners scramble for the rest.

The Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) has equally lamented marginalization from the government by Buhari led administration.

However, President Muhammad Buhari has been appointing Southerners and Christians into key positions in the country.

He recently appointed Professor Godswill Obioma as the Registrar of the National Examination Council (NECO), he also nominated the former minister for finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).











A few days ago, Buhari nominated Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem as the President of the Court of Appeal.






The recent actions of the leader look strange to many Nigerians because it is usually.

Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that the following are the reasons why President Buhari is appointing Christians and Southerners into high profile seats in the past few days.

First, the emergency of Professor Ibrahim Gambari Agboola as the Chief of Staff to the President.

Gambari emerged as the Chief of Staff after the death of Mallam Abba Kyari.

The CoS is the closest aide and chief advisor to the president, he influences a lot of decisions in the Presidency.

Gambari is a diplomat and professor of political science, he is versatile and knowledgeable. There is a high possibility that he is the one influencing the recent actions of the president.






Secondly, the recent criticisms of this administration by prominent Nigerians. Some influential citizens like Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Colonel Umar belittled this administration for its lopsided appointments in the federal institutions. This might also contribute to the recent change in the style of the president.

In a nutshell, every administration in Nigeria has been accused of favoritism and nepotism. The reality is that every group cannot get the equal opportunity from the government at the same time. However, the margin between the groups should not be wide and visible especially in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria.

Our leaders must be conscious of our diversity for us to live peacefully in Nigeria.