I appointed people I could trust, says Buhari

[three_fourth_last]At last, President Muammadu Buhari has opened up on his highly criticized action —the appointment of his close staffers— saying he appointed people he could trust.

He also stated that the other attribute he looked out for during the appointment was loyalty and integrity.

In the past weeks, the president has come under severe criticism because of the pattern of his appointment, which some people described as lopsided, tribal and religious, because it appears to favour his people from the North more than other parts of the country.

Some lawyers, especially in the South-East have even challenged some of the appointments made by the president so far in courts.
But the president remained unfazed arguing that even the constitution of the country gives him the freedom to appoint his closest officials without recourse to any parameter.

The president spoke during an interview with BBC Hausa on Tuesday and it was his first direct response to the controversy generated by his first round of appointments.

“If they (Nigerians) will do justice to me, as an elected Nigerian president, let them look at the Constitution a Nigerian president works with, there are people who will closely work with me that don’t need to be taken to the Senate,” he said of his critics.

Read also: Lawyer drags Buhari to court over ‘lopsided’ appointments

He added: “If I select people whom I know quite well in my political party, whom we came all the way right from the APP, CPC and APC, and have remained together in good or bad situation, the people I have confidence in and I can trust them with any post, will that amount to anything wrong? I have been with them throughout our trying times, what then is the reward of such dedication and suffering?

“They did not defect because of positions, they did not involve themselves in the pursuit of personal gains, and they accepted their fate throughout our trying moments. What is wrong if I make you the secretary (of the federal government) because I have confidence that things will go normal?”.

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