During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today program, former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, made strong allegations against the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, stating that they have flagrantly violated the fundamental principle of federal character in Nigeria over the past eight years.

Chidoka specifically highlighted that during the previous administration, all eighteen paramilitary agencies were headed by individuals from a single region of the country.

Chidoka’s remarks shed light on what he perceives as a significant imbalance in the distribution of key positions and opportunities across different regions of Nigeria. By accusing the APC of such violations, he draws attention to the importance of upholding the principle of federal character, which aims to promote inclusivity and fairness in governance.

This statement by Chidoka highlights his concerns regarding the alleged lack of diversity in the leadership of paramilitary agencies and raises questions about the adherence to the principle of federal character in the country’s political landscape.

Chidoka said it baffled him how people who didn’t complain when “the country was brutally harangued by the government now talk about issues of appointment and sensitivity within four weeks of new government.”

He said, “I will speak as someone who belongs to a party that’s famous for inclusion, the PDP. The APC in its history hasn’t shown any sensitivity to the federal character principle.

“I was in this country for the past eight years when the principle was brutally violated. I came on this programme, I spoke about the federal character commission. I spoke about our paramilitary agencies, eighteen of them, at that time, were headed by people from one particular region of the country.

“I wrote several articles about Buhari’s constant violation of our nationally agreed principle. And for the most part people rationalized it, people argued that he was appointing people he knew, he was appointing competent people.

“So, I find it objectionable for people who didn’t say a word when this country was brutally harangued by the government to now talk about issues of appointment and sensitivity in four weeks. I feel that it is a violation of the canon of decency. So what we need to see is that at the end of the day, the PDP plotted a zonal structure that works for it.

“For us in PDP, the first six positions are the president, the vice president, the Senate President, the speaker, the chairman of the party and the SGF. Those are the six positions we normally give to the six geopolitical zones. I want to see how the APC will do that. 

“Already, the election has given the south west, North east, and we are already seeing a South South Senate President. And we are seeing a North Central speaker, SGF and chairman of the party. I am waiting to see how these things will go to sort out those six.

“Then I am waiting to see how they will do the ministries in Nigeria, whether they will grade them in terms of their effectiveness in governance. For the PDP, there were grade A, grade B, and grade C ministries. Each of the geopolitical zones got one each from the grades; by so doing, the PDP ensured there was a sense of inclusion in the country.”