The federal government says the era of favouritism in key appointments is over
The federal government, on Monday, said technical competence will be a major factor for the nomination of heads and members into the new boards of parastatals that will soon be reconstituted.
Vice President Namadi Sambo stated this while presenting the distribution of allotment packages to stakeholders, which include the National Assembly and the Board of Trustees of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said other criteria for nomination include proven personal attributes like patriotism and team spirit; adding that such persons must be people who will not interfere with the day-to-day running of the agencies.
He also said the nomination must reflect geo-political and state wide spread to deepen democracy and reflect the transformation agenda of the present administration.
“In giving us this assignment, President Goodluck Jonathan expressed the need for transparency in corporate governance, as well as the need to ensure that the new boards follow laid down rules in procurement processes,” he said. “President directed that we should take a thorough look at the mandates of the MDAs and determine the most suitable.”
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, commended the development. “The president is leading by example,” he said. “He wants to be transparent in the governance of this country. What happened here today is something that has never happened before. At least I started democracy with this particular dispensation since 1999 to date, and this is the first time that we have boards of parastatals constituted in a transparent manner, such that nobody will question it.”
