John Shiklam in Kaduna
Kaduna State House of Assembly has rejected the nomination of Aliyu Ja’afaru Abubakar as commissioner for allegedly criticising the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai’s policies on the social media.
Abubakar was among those recently nominated by the governor for appointment as commissioners alongside other nominees who appeared before the assembly for screening and confirmation yesterday.
But while other nominees were cleared and confirmed, Abubakar was rejected for allegedly criticising el-Rufai‘s policies, especially in the education sector on his Facebook page.
Speaker of the assembly, Aminu Shagali, who presided over the sitting, had asked the nominee why he wanted to serve in a government that he attacks its policies.
According to Shagali, “You criticised the same administration which is about to employ you now in one of your posts on Facebook.
”You said there’s nothing good about the education policy, attacked the governor.
“The governor still chose you based on your merits; your Curriculum Vitae was chosen among about 10 CVs presented to the governor. Do you think it’s honourable to accept this nomination and work for an administration which you think is a bad one?”
The speaker noted that since 2017, Abubakar has been criticising the education policy of the governor, which according to him, is one of the best.
Shangali, who quoted some of the Facebook posts of the nominee, said: “In your Facebook account, you said there is nothing like making Kaduna State great again, it is a deceptive cliché used by politicians to deceive the masses; we will make Kaduna great at appropriate time.
“You said it is a responsibility for those who are truly sincere not for those who are inherently sarcastic. You also said El-Rufai must learn to tackle issues with human face. You said you are an advocate of change that goes to the root and cause (of a problem) not only the symptoms. “You (the nominee) also said in the same post: ‘stop comparing me with El-Rufai who thinks he is more intelligent than intelligence itself’.
“You however said you are a humble human being who believes that all that glitters is not gold, and that there is nothing authoritarian in insisting on the truth and never speak the truth.”
Continuing quoting Abubakar’s Facebook posts, the Speaker said: “You also said you ‘detest insincerity as there are better ways of genuinely solving problems.”
Abubakar, who was visibly dumbfounded when confronted with the questions, was barely given time to defend himself and was unanimously rejected by the Assembly.
In an interview with journalists shortly after the plenary session, Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Tanimu Musa, said Abubakar’s nomination was rejected because he criticised el-Rufai’s administration.
“The evil that men do lives even after them. Jaafaru (Abubakar) has been a critic of this administration on social media
“The nominee has been criticising the government, so why did he want to work with the government you have been criticising before?” Musa asked.
The Speaker also announced that the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe, would serve as the acting Commissioner for Health pending the appointment of a substantive commissioner.
