Yoruba Marginalization: Elders Met Jonathan To Complain - SMH

Forum 1 year ago

Yoruba Marginalization: Elders Met Jonathan To Complain - SMH

Yoruba Elders Meet Jonathan To Complain About Marginalisation - Smh

Written by Leon Usigbe, Abuja
Friday, 26 August 2011

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan met with a delegation of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), led by Major-General Adeyinka Adebayo (retd), in the State House, on Thursday, as the leaders complained about being left out in the top six posts in the country.

The delegation also demanded for the dissolution of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which they observed had been unable to fulfill the objectives of its establishment, while also asking for action of the deplorable roads in the South-West.

But responding to their requests, President Jonathan said he was concerned about adherence to the principle of federal character and the zoning formula adopted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and he had tried to ensure that no section of the country was left out in the scheme of things by accommodating them in the subsequent appointments he had made.

According to him, “the issue of federal character and position, especially those political offices, were quite worrisome to me, but we had to achieve political balancing and federal character.

“That is why this thing you describe as zoning was to make sure that every zone should be represented in the one you describe as top six, but for some political reasons, it was not possible. But on my own, in terms of appointments, I tried to see that the way appointment was made, you will agree with me that the appointments we have made so far did not exclude any section.”

He promised that he would not preside over a government that would margninalise any section of the country.

Jonathan lauded the role of Yoruba elders in the 2011 presidential election, which enabled the PDP to win in the South-West saying that the success was made possible because of the leadership.

On the request for the dissolution of the NDDC, Jonathan said though there were many complaints about the commission, it could not be dissolved because it was made up of management and staff.

Jonathan restated his commitment to ensure that things were done differently in the country, adding that corrupt officials would no longer be allowed to go scot free, while outstanding performers would be rewarded.