Another Ambassadorial nominee from Katsina State, Usman Bugaje has also rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination.
The rejection comes days after nominee, Pauline Tallen, the former Deputy Governor of Plateau state, publicly rejected the president’s offer.
Bugaje was however, according to news source, The Cable, prevailed upon against his decision to announce his rejection in the media by top government officials.
In reaction to Tallen’s decision, Simon Lalong, the Plateau state governor while speaking to the state house correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, commended Tallen whom he described as “an astute politician”
He continued while speaking on her decision, “Well, it is not only about her husband; I think is the dimension of Plateau politics because I had already made complaints to Mr President that appointments should not be concentrated in one zone.
“And so, all these appointments came again from one zone, in that particular zone. So the complaints that are coming from our state is not about her own personal interest; it is the fact that two ambassadorial appointments are coming from the same zone.
“That is my zone. We had complained that the next appointment should go to the other zone, the central and the northern zone. And so when that appointment came, the kind of uproar that followed also necessitated an intervention.”
He further added: “And I think as a matured politician she stepped down and sacrificed that for the people of Plateau. We are still working on a replacement for that. It is not a big issue but at times a little consultation would have solved that problem because these are issues in the interest of the state.
“You can’t have two appointments, very key appointments at that, coming from a particular zone that is already overloaded with appointments.
“All the federal appointments are from the southern zone, so it would not be fair. That is why we are approaching Mr. President to consider fairness and appoint people from those areas that do not have representation.”