Ijaw Youths Fault Northern Senator’s Opposition To Tinubu’s Nominee

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has frowned at comments by Senator Suleiman Kawu kicking against the nomination of Mr  Oluwole Adama as the executive director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) Governing Council by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The IYC called on the immediate past executive director of the council, Mansur Kuliya Alkali, to stop parading himself as the holder of the position despite his removal by Tinubu.

The secretary-general of the IYC, Maobuye Nangi Obu, in a statement yesterday, wondered why Senator Suleiman Kawu opposed the president’s nomination.

Tinubu in a recent letter to the Senate requested the lawmakers to confirm Adama as the new boss of the MDGIF Governing Council. But when the letter was read by the senate president, Godswill Akpabio, Kawu, a senator from Kano, faulted Tinubu’s nomination.

The IYC scribe described the actions of Alkali and Senator Kawu as an affront to the powers of the president, saying they were capable of instigating unrest within the critical sector.

The youth leader insisted that the removal and appointment of any public office holder remained the prerogative of the president and within his constitutional powers.

He said the nomination of Adama had caused celebration across the petroleum sector because of his vast experience and knowledge.

He said Tinubu’s nomination of Adama, who hails from the Niger Delta showed that the president understood the issues of marginalisation of the region in the oil and gas sector and was willing to address the imbalance.

Obu said the simple reason Kawu was opposing the nomination was because he did not want anybody from the Niger Delta to hold such a position.

He said: “It has come to our knowledge that a certain Mansur Kuliya Alkali is still parading himself as the executive director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) Governing Council. This development is coming even when President Bola Tinubu has made a fresh nomination into that office.

“We have also heard the agitation of a senator from Kano, Suleiman Kawu, kicking against the issue. These are all very misplaced actions and we condemn it as people of the Niger Delta.

“We call on security agencies to call Alkali to order. We also call on the Senate not to be intimidated but to confirm Adama as requested by the President and Commander in Chief. This new nomination will go a long way to assuage the feelings of people of the region,” he said.