All Dead Board Appointees Would Be Replace. - Presidency

The Presidency Saturday said that all the dead appointees in the controversial list of board appointments released Friday by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation would be replaced.

The list had attracted criticisms for including names of dead persons as chairmen and members of some boards of federal agencies and parastatals. But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday that there was nothing scandalous or extraordinary about the list. "This list is a historical list. It dates back to 2015.

The President asked all state chapters of the APC to forward 50 names for appointments to the SGF through the national headquarters of the party. "The then SGF, Babachir Lawal presented the report in October 2016, one year after he was commissioned.

"The report was disputed by state governors who said they were not carried along or the list was not representative enough. "So, the President constituted a new panel chaired by the Vice President. The panel has some governors and some leaders as of the party as members. They were asked to go and review the list.

"The panel did its work and turned in its report early in 2017. The President had his health challenges during that period. "Now that he is back and strong, he asked the SGF to go and release the list. So the new SGF did what he was asked to do.

There is nothing scandalous or extraordinary about what has happened. "If a list was complied like over two years ago, obviously people would have died. Nobody can stop that from happening.  "Whoever is dead will be replaced. There is nothing extraordinary about it," Shehu said.