Ethnicity Not The Basis For Our Appointment - SGF

New Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, David Babachir Lawal has said that his appointment by President Buhari was not based on ethnic or religious considerations, but purely on merit. He said the same thing applied to other appointments so far made by the president.

He spoke on the backdrop of complaints from Southern Nigeria that Buhari's appointments have been skewed in favor of the North. Of the 31 appointments made so far by Buhari, only 5 have come from the South.

Speaking after taking his oath of office on Monday, the SGF said,
“We want to thank God for granting Mr. President the vision, wisdom, kindness and boldness to consider us worthy of positions of responsibilities.

“We did not have to pass examination to get appointed into these positions; not because of our tribes, our faiths or our political groups that we were considered worthy for these positions.

“If it were such, I am sure none of us would have been considered worthy of these appointments.

“We appreciate the President and we appreciate God that He has blessed us with these privileged appointments. It is a privilege to serve Nigerians in these capacities at this point in time.

“Nigeria is at the threshold of achieving greatness and it is our honour and privilege to be senior members of the team that will propel the country to this greatness.

“We have in you (the President) and the Vice President, leaders that lead by example; leaders that are focused; leaders whose goal is to build a Nigeria where there is liberty, security, economic prosperity and the rule of law.

“We are grateful that we are part of the team to deliver this goal. Accept our assurances that by the grace of God, we will not fail you. We will not fail our country; we will not fail ourselves; our families and our friends.

“By the grace of God, we will not fail you either. We will strive at all times to serve our country and to serve you with excellence, hard work and integrity.”

President Muhammadu Buhari did not make any speech at the event.