Buhari should appoint ministers from opposition parties—Balarabe Musa

A former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint ministers and other government functionaries from the opposition parties, saying a government of national unity should be paramount in his agenda.

Musa, who spoke in an interview with our correspondent, on Wednesday, berated the winner-takes-all political culture in the country and argued that a coalition government was imperative.

He said, “President Muhammadu Buhari should form a government of national unity. He should appoint ministers and government functionaries, not only from the APC but from the Peoples Democratic Party and other opposition parties.”

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While commenting on the high cost of governance in the country, Musa asked the Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, and his Kaduna State counterpart, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, to disclose their full entitlements rather than “merely announce a 50 per cent reduction in their salaries.”

“The recent announcement of a slash in salaries by El-Rufai and Abubakar is too symbolic. What about other remuneration they get besides salaries? We have to know about all the governor gets, not just salaries. It is not really commendable. It is not enough. It is politically distractive. Let the two governors reveal the whole entitlement that they get, including salaries. They should let us know what each governor costs the state,” Musa said.

While reacting to the election of Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, as the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, Musa said although the election process was democratic. He said, both Saraki and Dogara should be loyal to their party, noting that they got elected on the platform of the APC.

He added, “Let the President first initiate the reduction in the entitlements for political office holders through an act of law. Although the moves to reduce the remuneration of public office holders failed during the Shehu Shagari era in the Second Republic, people are now more aware and enlightened and the lawmakers should support that. It is the President who can champion the initiative. He has more powers than other public office holders.

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