The members of the New Nigeria People's Party, NNPP, send special greetings to you, your family and \members of your cabinet, as well as all Nigerians in this season of Easter.
NNPP as one of the registered political parties in the country has its roots in the Maritime and Transport Sector of the economy and is borne out of our belief that there are great potentials in the industry, waiting to be fully tapped. This propelled us into accepting and embracing the APC Government with its change agenda, under your command and leadership as tested reformer and Anti-Corruption Crusader.
Mr. President, we believe your Government has shown sufficient political will to bring about this change, and a new Nigeria, that will meet the aspirations and yearnings of our people in all areas of our national life.
Sir, as we mentioned above, our party, NNPP, primarily has its roots in the Maritime industry, which explains why we are interested in how we can fully tap the potentials of the sector for the maximum benefits of Nigerians, through the deployment of capable hands into the industry, especially, Agencies of Government, playing supervisory and regulatory roles in the sector.
For this reason, we are always concerned about the integrity and capability of the people appointed into these agencies, since we are convinced that our country is blessed with more than sufficient qualified technocrats within the system to drive the industry to success. Unfortunately, our experience in the recent past has shown that at critical periods, it appears that less sensitive people have been appointed into these positions, and this has led the industry to its unenviable low level. We don't want this government to continue to make the same mistake further.
Mr. President, we are aware that you are quite conscious of the fact that your government offers the last hope for the enthronement of sanity in all areas of our national life, and it cannot afford to fail Nigerians.
The powers of Mr. President to appoint individuals to help him carry out the mandate given to him by the people is not in doubt. Section 5 (1a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, says
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Executive Powers of the Federation:
a.) Shall be vested in the President and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public Service of the Federation;
From Mr. President's antecedents, it is very clear that you have the zeal of using the right type of people to achieve your objectives. We urge the President to continue in this tradition, and be so guided in his appointments, by appointing qualified technocrats to direct affairs at the Agencies of Government operating in the Maritime and Transport Sector, e.g. Nigeria Customs Service, NPA, NSC, NIMASA, SON, NAFDAC, NIWA, NAA etc.
Being a product of a political party, sponsored by a political party and supported by politicians, who may have in one way or the other contributed to your success at the polls, we appreciate the fact that Mr. President needs to reward party loyalists and other politicians who played major roles in getting him to office by giving them appointments and due patronage. However we think there are more than enough political offices and incentives to compensate politicians. It is our opinion that Government Agencies in the Maritime and Transport Sector require seasoned technocrats, especially officers within the Agencies, who have been and grown in the system to pilot their affairs, in order to get the best out of them, and as such should not be avenues to reward political associates. It goes without saying that with this trend, it is going to lead to a counterproductive phenomenon in the sense that career officers who ab-initio join the service to make careers out of these Agencies may begin to see that they cannot aspire to the zenith of their chosen careers if political “outsiders” are now brought into the system to truncate their ultimate aspirations.
We are aware that some appointments have been exclusively reserved for politicians. E.g. Ministers Code of Conduct Bureau, Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service Commission, National Population Commission and Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission among others.
Sections 156(1a) & 65 (2b) of the Constitution refer.
"No person shall be qualified for appointment as a member of any of the bodies aforesaid if:-
(a) He is not qualified or if he is disqualified as a member of the House of Representatives.
Section 65 (2b) goes further to explain what qualifies someone to be a member of the House of Representatives.
"A person shall be qualified for election under subsection (1) of this section if-
(b) He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party.
The appointments into the Agencies of Government in the Maritime and Transport Industry do not fall under this category, and as such, Mr. President is at liberty to follow the laws establishing these Agencies in appointing those who will help him drive his change agenda. Being knowledgeable individuals in the workings of these Agencies they would act as better catalysts to propel the change agenda of the Government. Their loyalty should not be in doubt Mr. President because they are trained technocrats of repute in line with Civil Service regulations.
We believe appointing someone from within the pool of the technocrats, someone who already has the full grasp of the nitty gritty in the affected Agency, to take over will smoothen the process of transition, as we don't have time to waste. These Agencies of Government should go into full throttle right from the blast of the whistle. We thank you and appreciate you for taking the right decisions at Nigerian Shippers Council and Nigerian Ports Authority in making your appointments. We look forward to others including but not limited to National Foods Drugs Administration and Control, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority, Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron etc.
Mr. President, we appreciate your efforts in tackling insecurity problem in Nigeria to have technically incapacitated the insurgents. It is our hope that you will continue to deploy the wisdom and fear of God in carrying out your leadership in Nigeria, and to be very circumspect and diligent in dealing with religious matters including those exercising your delegated powers in Nigeria. God shall help you Mr. President.
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