The Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a frontline public procurement advocacy group in Nigeria, has strongly criticized political appointees for their practice of naming public institutions after sitting presidents.
NEFGAD viewed the practice as extreme sycophancy, unethical, and highly questionable.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, approved the establishment of a Federal Polytechnic in Gwarinpa District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which will be named after him-Bola Ahmed Tinubu Polytechnic, Gwarinpa.
NEFGAD made this known via a statement signed by its country head of office, Mr Akingunola Omoniyi and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.
Omoniyi argued that the President, as an appointee of government and Chief Executive Officer of all federal institutions, should not be approached to oversee matters that offer monumental benefits to them while still in active service.
He noted that it was “purely wrong and difficult to rationalize” due to the inherent conflict of interest.
“Several appointees of the current president have named federal institutions after the president including Southern parkway in FCT by Nyesom Wike, an Immigration Data Center by the Head of the Nigerian Immigration Service, and most recently a federal polytechnic by Education Minister Tunji Alausa.
“Similar scenario played out during the last administration of president Muhamadu Buhari when Second Niger Bridge, A federal project was named after the former president while in office,” he said.
Omoniyi stated that any appointee engaging in such practice should be reminded of the code of conduct for public officers enacted to maintain a high standard of morality in the conduct of government businesses and to ensure that the actions and behavior of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.
“How can an appointee name a public institution after someone who appointed him into office?” he queried.
He further averred that governance world-over has moved beyond such a primordial approach of courting political favour through such an archaic and unethical practice.
“Beyond leadership limitations, followership elsewhere carry on their shoulders huge responsibility of letting leaders know what is right and appropriate to do per time, hence, imposing on Mr President such unhealthy gesture of naming federal institutions after him shows the nature and thinking of people around him and such should be discouraged forthwith,” he said.
NEFGAD called for reversal of such gestures in the protection and preservation of the office and reputation of the president, saying that honouring a sitting president may create the appearance of bias, as it can be seen as a form of political favour.
“It may give the impression that the institutions so named after a political head serve political purposes rather than its intended mission,” he said.
Omoniyi emphasised the importance of maintaining institutional integrity and impartiality, stressing that while a performing leader deserves recognition, it’s crucial to wait until they have completed their term in office before bestowing honours.
