Ministers: Plateau group faults petition against nominee

A group, the Plateau Integrity Coalition, has described as unpatriotic, the petition to President Goodluck Jonathan against the nomination of Dr. Jonah Madugu as the state’s representative in the Federal Executive Council.

PIC, in a statement in Jos on Wednesday, said the nominee by his character and education was qualified for the position of a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having served in the past as a minister of state in the Ministry of Agriculture.

In the statement signed by the Coordinator of the Plc, Mr. Aminu Zang, and made available to our correspondent, PIC said, “Our attention has been drawn to a letter purportedly written to the President by an amorphous group called Movement for the Survival of Plateau People against the nomination of Dr. Jonah Madugu as ministerial nominee from Plateau State.

“The truth is that Mr. President requested all states to submit names of 10 nominees for consideration for appointment at the Federal level and Dr. Jonah Madugu’s name was submitted as one of those who deserved such consideration. It is noteworthy that no one contested this action because he, indeed, merited the nomination.”

The group said a look at the appointment of ministers and ambassadors since 1999 had shown that the Federal Government had relied on factors not directly connected to the sharing of offices at the state level to achieve its goal of constituting a team that could deliver at the federal level.