TheCable

Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, says the list of President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointees “will be updated periodically”.

The list was released on Saturday in reaction to a newspaper report that most of Buhari’s appointees are from the north.

The report had said Buhari ceded 81 of 100 appointments to the north.

“What matters is that the lie has been put to claim that 81 appointments were from the north out of 100,” Adesina told TheCable on Sunday.

“We shall continue to update the list periodically.”

According to the list, south-west took the lion’s share with 40 appointees, next to north-west 30 and north-east 24.

South-east has 22, north-central 21 and south-south 20.

But TheCable observed some errors on the list, which has 157 names but was numbered 159, while 118 and 151 were missing.

Maryam Uwais, special adviser on social investment who works in the office of the vice-president, who hails from Kano in north-west, was listed as being from the north-central.

Mohammed Babandede, the immigration comptroller-general, is from the north-west (Jigawa) but north-central was listed.

TheCable’s finding showed that the north-west has 32 not 30. That leaves the north-central with 19, not 21. With 19, north-central has the lowest.

However, arguments could now shift to headship of “grade A” or “juicy” ministries, agencies and departments with big budgets and patronage which some commentators allege favour the north.