President Bola Tinubu’s offer of board seats to state governors, including those chosen on the platforms of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, has been resisted by the Labour Party and Peter Obi, its standard bearer in the most recent presidential election.
The President requested the governors to nominate qualified individuals to serve on the boards and parastatals of Federal Government agencies that were dissolved last month, according to Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the governor of Kwara State and chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, who made the revelation at a meeting of the forum on Tuesday night in Abuja.
According to reports, Tinubu announced the resignation of the boards of directors for more than 153 government-owned corporations, parastatals, and agencies.
The 209 boards that former President Muhammadu Buhari established in December 2017 included the disbanded ones.
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The boards were expected to fill no less than 2,000 open positions with new nominees.
Important organizations include the North-East Development Commission, which has 12 open board seats, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which has seven board seats open, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, which has seven seats, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, which has 21 seats, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, which has 12, the National Universities Commission, which has 21, and the Transmission Commission of Nigeria, which has 14.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Nigerian Police Trust Fund, Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, National Centre for Technology Management, and others are also included.
The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, the Nigerian Customs Service, the National Pension Commission, the National Identity Management Commission, the West Africa Examination Council, the Niger Delta Development Commission, the National Institute of Sports, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Federal Inland Revenue Services, the Federal Ai, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons are also included on the list.
The NGF members decided to thank the President for giving the governors a chance to nominate board members who crossed party lines, according to a communiqué released at the conclusion of the NGF meeting on Wednesday, according to Governor Abdulrazaq.
The governor also revealed that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency briefed the forum on the cases of flooding across the nation and the steps taken so far to stop them.
They also welcomed Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and UN Ambassador for Peace, who was in Nigeria to promote the rights of girls, along with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed.
The state chief executives stated that they were ready to work with the UN and the Malala Fund to advance gender-responsive and inclusive policies, such as granting girls access to high-quality education and taking other affirmative steps nationwide.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the governors decided to adopt local government and community-level strategies to deal with natural disaster incidents in order to prevent the loss of lives and property.
“Members (of NGF) resolved to commend the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President, Bola Tinubu for showing leadership by extending the opportunity to governors across party lines, by asking them to nominate competent people from their fold for appointment to boards of parastatals,” the communiqué read in part.
The director generals of the National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency briefed the forum on the prevalence of flooding throughout the nation. The forum then discussed urgent proactive measures to save lives, livelihoods, vital infrastructure, and protect national food security.
“Members reaffirmed their commitment to working with pertinent agencies to develop a comprehensive and federated response while utilizing the 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction, Annual Flood Outlook, flood risk maps, and the Climate-Related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Strategy.”
In light of the increasing frequency of disasters worldwide, the National Emergency Management Agency briefed governors on how to achieve shared objectives of creating a safer and more resilient Nigeria.
NEMA urged state governors to establish operational State Emergency Management Agencies, Local Emergency Management Committees, and community volunteers with sufficient financial support, legal protection, and qualified personnel to:
“Support the exchange of information, resources, and expertise among states, NEMA, and other responsible partners.
“In light of the fact that disasters occur in various locations and at various times, support the signing of Mutual Aid Agreements between states.
“Foster policy alignment and community engagement for disaster risk reduction,” and “encourage private sector participation as part of its corporate social responsibility.”
“According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, every dollar invested in risk mitigation and prevention in the United States can save up to $15 in post-disaster recovery.”
The governors urged NEMA and NiMet to create a thorough partnership framework to guide their engagement with states, according to the communiqué.
The governors also expressed their sorrow for the senseless killings in some areas of their states to Caleb Muftwang, the governor of Plateau, and Dauda Lawal, the governor of Zamfara.
They requested the Federal Government’s assistance in protecting people and property all over the nation.
The LP, however, criticized Tinubu’s offer of board seats to governors regardless of party affiliation and called it a “gimmick” to woo opposition chieftains and governments into the ruling party.
Such a subdued action, according to the chief spokesperson for the Obi-Datti Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, ”will not change the fact that Tinubu’s presidency is an illegitimate government.
He declared, “The APC is doing everything in their dirty power to legitimize this government, which we have vehemently opposed. We will only exercise our legal rights once the court has rendered its judgment and made its proclamation.
