Two dead men make Buhari’s board appointments

 Cyriacus Nnaji:

Senator Francis Okpozo, who died at 81, in 2016, has been named Chairman, Nigerian Press Council (NPC).

Also on the list is late retired Deputy Inspector General of Police and elder statesman, Donald Ugbaja.

The late Ugbaja was appointed member of Consumer Protection Council. His name is the third on the list of the council whose chairman is Emeka Nwakpa.

The two men are among the 209 chairmen and 1,258 members appointed to fill the governing boards of agencies and parastatals positions.

The Presidency had issued a statement on December 28, 2016 expressing condolences to his family and the government of Delta State on his death.

Until his death, Late Okpozo was a Second Republic senator and member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement by the presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President also commiserated with “the family and friends of the late senator, whose championing of social justice in the Niger Delta, during his long history of service to the people, endeared him to many.”

The statement added that “As a stalwart of the APC in the South-South, President Buhari believes that the party greatly benefited from the octogenarian’s charismatic leadership and wealth of experience as a politician.”

The President also “hopes that all who mourn Senator Okpozo will carry forward his legacy of unwavering dedication to the unity of Nigeria, even as the nation would fondly remember his contributions to peace, development and justice in the Niger Delta.”

The appointments which was released late Saturday night to mainly online media by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, read:

“Mr. President considered the approval for the constitution of the Boards as well as the appointments, very necessary, so as to provide a proper Governance and oversight structure for Government Agencies and Parastatals. The constitution of the boards with the appointments, is a demonstration of this Government’s efforts aimed at building strong institutions of Governance, and by extension, improving the quality of Policy formulation and supervision.