‘Appointment of Abia Rep in RMFAC is governor’s prerogative’

Abia State government has said that the nomination and recommendation of the Abia State representative at the Revenue and Fiscal Allocation Committee (RMFAC) remains the prerogative of the Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.

A statement signed by Godwin Adindu, the chief press secretary to the governor, said the governor would make this recommendation and nomination at the appropriate time and nobody should pre-empt or prompt him to walk faster than his shadows.

It said nobody or group should make any claim in this regard and purport it to have the seal of the Abia State government.

It noted that this clarification had become necessary following a media report that alleged that some unnamed and faceless political stakeholders from the three political zones of the state had called on President Muhammadu Buhari to approve the reappointment of Chris Adighije as the state’s representative at the RMFAC.

“The governor has not given any support or endorsement to any political group or the so-called “political stakeholders” to speak on his behalf on this matter and the government is not aware of any forum convened to make representation for Adighije for his reappointment,” the statement said.

It further said that the purported report was a ruse and a contraption aimed at positioning Senator Adighije for a position where the candidate was only but an ambassador of the state and therefore must emerge as an endorsement  of the state.

The statement made it clear that while the claims of Adighije’s achievement as the Abia Representative at RMFAC are contentious, the government wants to state categorically that the position is the prerogative of the governor and therefore the racketeering for federal political appointment should not be used to cause disaffection within the body polity of the state.