NNPC Appointments – Open Letter to President Muhammad Buhari

Re: NNPC Appointments: Open Letter to President Muhammad Buhari

We would want to first commend the Niger Delta people for coming out to express their grievances against the federal government on what they titled the continuous marginalization of the Niger Delta people in terms of political appointments in strategic positions in the country, mostly the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

It was indeed the right step to take by any ethnocultural organisation or region which feel that what is supposed to be part of their right or inheritance as a bonifide citizen of a country is being denied them by the power that be, when others are benefiting.

However, we as Concerned Citizens of Nigeria (CCN), which members consist of all the geopolitical zones of the country, we would not have taken time to respond to your letter to President Muhammad Buhari and the National Assembly and others people Mentioned because we believe that it is the responsibility of his media team or secretary to respond to your letter, if not for the aspect of appointments in the NNPC that you mentioned and criticised.

We as an organization have taken time to study how appointments are done in government and private agencies, and we know that any organisation that wants to succeed would not base it’s appointments on political or ethic sentiment, but rather on competence, experience and right qualifications.

So from our information, NNPC is not left out in this regard, as most appointments done in this corporation was and it is still based on competence, qualifications, and not political, religious or ethnic sentiment.

We observed that from your letter to the President, you made it seem as if the Niger Delta people have always been left out of political appointments because of the region they belong to. We must let you know that is not true and such feelings should be dumped in the thrash can, because it is not healthy for a nation like Nigeria.

We mean no offence to the content of your letter, but, we believe that as a region that has the interest of the progress of Nigeria at heart, your people would not expect to be placed in position they are not qualified for when experience, seaniority and other yard are using

We must also, remind your people that NNPC, as its name implies, is not a political party or an ethnic organisation that would jettison right qualifications for ethnicity, religion or politics, just to satisfy the region the person at the helm of affairs belongs to. It is wrong to think that way, and has the capability of dividing the nation.

The corporation has a lot of responsibilities at stake for the nation’s growth and development if the right people are not put in the right positions, not minding the experience or qualifications they have acquired, and if they can not contribute meaningfully to the development of the organization and the nation at large.

We believe that the person at the helm of affairs is too intelligent to want to base appointments into the NNPC on regions, religion or political party the people that applied for it appointments belong to. So, we will advice in expressing your grievances on something, we must not bring in politics into the NNPC, because the wealth of the nation solely depend on the corporation.

Thank you.
Hon. Femi Sanusi
For: Concerned Citizens of Nigeria (CCN)

CC:

1. Senator Ahmed Lawan, Senate President
2. Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker, House of Representatives
3. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Senate President
4. Chairmen, Senate Committees on Niger Delta & Petroleum Upstream/Downstream
5. Chairmen, House Committees on Niger Delta & Petroleum Upstream/Downstream
6. HE, Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State
7. HE, Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State
8. HE, Prof. Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State
9. HE, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State
10. HE, Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State
11. HE, Chief Barr. Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State
12. HE, Dr, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
13. HE, Chief Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo
14. HE, General Ibrahim Babangida rtd
15. HE, General Abdulsalami Abubakar rtd
16. General T. Y. Danjuma rtd
17. Chairmen of Traditional Rulers’ Councils of the six South South States
18. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman, APC