A former Kaduna lawmaker, Shehu Sani, has warned the President Bola Tinubu not to make the mistake of his immediate predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari on appointments. 

Sani issued this warning while speaking in interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.

The former lawmaker asked President Tinubu to prioritise competence in his appointments if he is interested in results.

Sani said during Buhari’s eight-year administration between May 2015 and May 2023, nepotism was at its peak yet results were not produced in all areas of governance, majorly security, economy, education and healthcare.

He said, “I will advise President Tinubu to be careful not to make the mistakes of President Buhari, and I believe he is experienced to understand this.

“Under Presdient Buhari, you have ministers that were appointed into office for the whole of eight years; they were with him for the first tenure and the second tenure, and there was no cabinet reshuffle, no removal.

“Even if there was a removal, it takes three to four months to replace a minister. That was the way the country was governed.

“Under Buhari, we have seen nepotism at its peak where people were appointed into office and left there even if they did nothing.

“Service chiefs were retained in office despite their failures, and by retaining them, you destroyed the careers of those behind them. For many years, many officers were retired to appoint one person.”

“If this country has to move forward, we must treat the issue of competency as the qualification for appointment,” he said.

Sani further said the situation in northern Nigeria is a reflection of the failure of political leaders, especially those from the region who failed to use political power to reduce the level of underdevelopment in the 19 states of the region.

“What has all these powers been used for? It has not been used for the benefit of our people for a very long time,” he stated.