President Muhammadu Buhari has come under fire by Southern groups over 
what they described as “lopsided” appointments of heads of the various security 
agencies in the country.
They said the pattern of the appointments by the President did not reflect federal 
character and the diversity nature of the country.
Saturday PUNCH findings showed that 14 of the nation’s 17 security agencies are 
currently being headed by Northerners. The majority of them were appointed by 
President Buhari.

The Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), under whose purview 
are the Prisons Service, Immigration Service, Fire Service and the Nigeria Security 
and Civil Defence Corps, hails from Kaduna State.Only three security agencies are
 headed by Southerners, a situation the groups tagged as “worrisome.”
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, is from Borno State. The
 National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), is also from Borno 
State. Also from Borno State is the Chairman of the Economic and Financial
 Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
The Minister of Defence, Brig.-Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (retd.), hails from Zamfara State, 
while the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, is from Bauchi State. 
The acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, hails from Niger State.
Also from Niger State is the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil
 Defence Corps, Abdullahi Muhammadu. The Director-General of the Department of 
State Services, Lawal Musa Daura, is from Katsina State.
However, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, is from Ekiti State
 in the South-West.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede,
 is from Jigawa State, while the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs 
Service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), is from Bauchi State.
The Controller-General of the Nigeria Prison Service, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed, is from 
Kebbi State, while the Federal Road Safety Commission boss, Corps Marshal Boboye 
Oyeyemi, is from Kwara State.
Nevertheless, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, is from 
Cross River State.
Also, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, who was 
appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, is from Oyo State.
But the Comptroller-General of the Federal Fire Service, Joseph Anebi, also 
appointed by Jonathan, is also from the North.
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Sani Didi, from 
Kaduna State, was also appointed by the former President in 2010.
Expressing concern over this situation, the Secretary General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, 
Dr. Joe Nwosu, said the appointments so far had not reflected the federal 
character as embellished in the country’s Constitution.
He said, “We have been crying out loud since the first appointments — of the 
ministers were made — when out of the 36 ministers, 24 were chosen from 
the North. Now that other Nigerians are complaining, it means we are not alone. As 
a tribe, we have had a long history of marginalisation from governance in Nigeria.
“The President said the appointments were made on merit, so are we now saying that
 only the Northerners have merit? Where is the federal character which we talk 
about in Nigeria?”
The spokesperson for the Ijaw National Congress, Mr. Victor Borubo, said the
 appointments suggested the President was “tribalistic” and not “interested” in the 
country’s diversity.
He said, “Personally, it is an issue that has troubled me greatly and the President 
has not shown any sensitivity to it — the issue of the Constitution that people from 
all the states of the federation should be appointed in such positions.
“But the President is not showing interest in diversity and this has led to the loss of
 confidence in his administration. I think this is why different agitation groups are 
springing up across the country.”
Whether the President could perhaps change some of the appointments to reflect 
federal character if he is petitioned by the different groups in the country, Borube said, 
“I do not think so. He does not strike me as a listening President. If he were, we 
would not have got to this level. He does not really respond to issues. He carries
 on as if nothing is happening. We are going through a lot of pain today because the 
President is a tribalist. What he needs to do right now is to save the country.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, 
Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said the mostly Northern composition of the leadership 
of the country’s security agencies was “very” dangerous and could lead to the heating 
up of the polity.
He said, “The pattern of the appointments today has not shown enough sensitivity
 to the diversity of Nigeria. When you have the IG of the Police, the Chief of Army 
Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and Minister of Defence, the Minister of Interior and 
the NSA appointed from a section of the country, what that means is that 
when the apparatchiks are meeting, it is a section of the country that is being 
represented; it means that the views of other sections are not accommodated, 
that is very dangerous.
“That kind of arrangement is a situation from which genocide germinates because
 there is no balance in the security architecture of the country. This is not healthy for 
the polity. When you look at the table today, especially at the composition of the 
heads of the security agencies, I don’t think everybody is comfortable.”
The spokesperson for the Ijaw Youth Congress Worldwide, Mr. Eric Omare, said the
 situation was worrisome and unhealthy for the country. He called on the President 
to make changes to reflect federal character.
Omare said, “The style of the President’s recruitment is worrisome. When you appoint 
people from only one part of the country, it gives room for concern. For instance, we
 have a security challenge in the Niger Delta and we expected he would appoint 
someone from here who knows how to deal with it. However, he didn’t do so.
“We are not surprised because looking at the background of the President, he does 
not really know the country he is governing. Look at the people around him; 
there is no diversity. It is worrisome and we call on him to make changes with
 immediate effect.”
The spokesperson for the Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, said the 
President’s action suggested that he was promoting a Northern agenda.
He added the situation depicted that the President was only comfortable in working 
with and for the Northerners.
Famoriyo said, “It is very clear to everybody that the appointments of the heads of the
 security agencies tend towards the North. It is clear to everybody the 
appointments are Northern agenda than being pan-Nigeria agenda. This is clear for
 everybody to see.
“Does that mean there is no person from the South-West, South-East and the
 South-South that is qualified and educated to hold any of those key positions? 
One is not happy that what is supposed to have national character is not having it. 
That is the issue that must be looked into.”
Famoriyo, however, urged President Buhari to make his appointments reflect national 
character so that he would not be labelled as a Northern President as against being 
Nigeria’s President.
He said, “That is what the President should do. He should make sure that all the 
appointments he will make henceforth have national character. Even the 
issue of the ambassadorial appointments too, some people have kicked that they 
tend to be favouring a particular region.
“Whichever way you look at it, there are many qualified and educated personnel in 
the South that can hold these positions. The handwriting on the wall that the President
 appoints those he is comfortable working with and those people happen to be 
Northerners.”
Efforts to get the reaction of presidential spokesmen did not yield positive result as 
of the time of filing this report on Friday.
But earlier in the life of this administration, the Presidency had, while reacting to
 similar allegation of lopsidedness in Buhari’s appointments, assured agitated persons
 that the President would balance his federal appointments.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, 
had while reacting to the criticism that came after Buhari made six appointments, 
with five of them from the North, promised that the President would respect federal 
character as stipulated by the constitution.
Adesina had said, “Nobody can fault the fact that the persons appointed were 
appointed on merits.
“In terms of the spread, the President has prerogative to appoint and he knows there is 
federal character.
“I am sure that there will be balance in the future. These are still early days. At the end
 of the day, we will have a balance. By the time more appointments are made, it will 
balance out.”
The presidential spokesman had asked Nigerians to disregard talks of key or no key 
positions, as the President has the interest of Nigerians at heart.
“The president is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key positions and 
no key positions should not be the issue,” he had said.