Group laments ‘marginalisation’ of Yoruba in federal appointments

The group appealed to the president to address the ‘lopsidedness’ in federal appointments.

A group, the National Coalition of Yoruba Youth Council, NCYYC, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to address what it termed as “obvious” marginalization of the Yoruba race into federal appointments.

Rising from its emergency meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Coalition said the Yoruba race is presently marginalized in the appointments into key positions at the federal level.

In a communiqué issued at the end its emergency meeting in Akure, Ondo State and signed by Jimoh Akeem, President, and Kelvin Babalola, Secretary, the group said the Yorubas have been “relegated to the back door” by Jonathan’s administration. The group therefore appealed to the president to urgently address the lopsidedness in the federal appointments to ensure even sharing of appointments among the different regions in the country.

The communiqué reads, “It’s sad that as a race, the Yorubas have been relegated under this present government. The marginalistion is obvious in board and parastatal appointments. To make the matter worse, the race is also being marginalized in employment and social infrastructure distribution.

“We are appealing to President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently address this irregularity and ensure that each region is well represented in his cabinet, federal boards and parastatals,” it said.

The group also appealed to the federal government to set in motion necessary machinery to start the exploration of vast deposits of bitumen in Ondo State to stop the over reliance on petroleum. It noted that exploration of bitumen would create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth and liberalise the nation’s economic base.