A group under the auspices of Concerned Nigerlite Forum, has called for the sack of the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, over the continuous appointment of a non indigene as head of the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority.
The Chairman of the forum, Mohammed Mohammed, made the group’s position known on Thursday at a press briefing in Minna.
Mohammed said an indigene of Niger State has never headed UNRBDA since its establishment in 1993 despite the state being home to the organization’s headquarters.
He maintained that all past heads of UNRBDA have come from only two catchment areas of Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory in violation of the act establishing it.
According to Mohammed: “The act explained in detail the functions of the Authority and how its members are to be drawn from its catchment areas of Niger, Kaduna and Federal Capital Territory.
“It is worth noting that since its establishment, all other matters contained in the Act have been rigorously pursued to the letter, except in the appointment of MD.
“Kaduna and FCT have, since 1993, been producing the MD of the authority at the expense of Niger, which has so far produced none.”
Mohammed noted that the present head of the Authority, Prof. Abdulkareem Ali, who claims to be an indigene of Niger State, actually hails from Kano State, which is not a catchment state.
He said: “Ali was imposed on the Authority by the Minister despite the state government’s nominee, Alhaji Ibrahim Barwa, for the position in response to the Federal Government’s request for recommendation.
“Professor Ali, who is a crony and protégé of the Minister of Water Resources, claims to hail from Niger while in actual sense he hails from Fagge Local Government of Kano State.
“This unjustifiable action of the Minister in announcing a non-indigene as the MD of the Authority is uncalled for and a disservice to President Buhari who is a man of integrity and honesty.
“We therefore call on the President to replace the Minister with someone who is competent and honest.”
Mohammed said the group’s stance was in line with a protest letter to the Federal Government by the state government on the issue.
He called on well meaning citizens of the state and concerned authorities to come together to ensure that justice is served.