Ministerial list: Buhari’ll respect zonal politics -Emerhor

All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor has assured members of the party that President Muhammadu Burahi will not ignore the need to balance political interests in the state in choosing his ministers from the area.
Emerhor’s assurance came on the heels of the protests that followed the circulation of the alleged list of Buhari’s ministerial nominees, especial the names of those who will fill the slot for Delta, by some online and other media platforms.
The purported nominees were alleged to have gone through security screening.
Speaking on the development, the APC leader in Delta assured party faithful that the president was conversant with the zonal political arrangement of the state and would ensure balancing in his appointments.  The seeming delay in the appointment of Buhari’s aides and ministers, he said, was a result of his interest in consulting and reaching out to stakeholders in order to manage the peculiarities and sensitivities in the different states.

In a statement he issued and personally signed, Emerhor said: “President Buhari only recently appointed Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, a Deltan from Delta North, as Group Managing Director of NNPC. He is aware the current Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and the current Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele are Deltans also from Delta North.”
I believe being aware of this situation, the president will strive to balance further appointments from Delta State by looking towards the other zones, that is Delta Central and South.”
He urged members of the party and the people of the state not to panic or resort to protests, saying the lists being circulated in the media were not authentic.
Some media reports recently claimed that Buhari had nominated Prof. Pat Utomi from Delta North to occupy the ministerial slot of the state and had been screened by the Directorate of State Service (DSS).
The report of the alleged nomination led to protests by people from Delta Central and South, who claimed that political appointments from the state were lopsided in favour of Delta North.
Members of APC in Delta, Daily Sun gathered, were apprehensive that should Emerhor’s petition against Okowa’s election succeed, Delta Central and South might protest against the party with their votes in the rerun if Buhari’s appointments from the state were not balanced.