Buhari quietly appoints son-in-law as head of Border Agency

President Muhammadu Buhari has quietly appointed his son-in-law
as the head of Nigeria’s Border Communities Development Agency.

Junaid Abdullahi, a retired Army captain, assumed duties at the
agency on a low-key on October 18.

He was married to Zulaihat, Mr Buhari’s first daughter who
passed away in 2012 from childbirth complications. She was 40.

Mr Abdullahi took over from Jummai Idakwo, the former director
of the agency.

Such appointments are usually announced by either the Presidency
or the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation.

It was not immediately clear why both institutions kept a sealed
lip over the appointment.

A government source who learnt about the appointment last month
said it might have been hushed to save Mr Buhari the trouble of
again being accused of nepotism.

The president has faced regular allegations of being sectional,
with critics saying his appointments have been lopsided since he
assumed office in 2015.

His critics often raise concerns about how most key federal
appointments, especially top national security positions, have been
ceded to northerners.

Last week, the presidential candidate of the Allied Congress
Party of Nigeria, Oby Ezekwesili, said Mr Buhari was Nigeria’s
“most nepotistic” leader ever.

Mr Buhari has repeatedly denied the allegations, and often urged
Nigerians to scrutinise his appointments, after which they are
likely to reach a different conclusion.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has also said the administration’s
appointments are not lopsided, and suggested that more seats have
gone to the south than the north under Mr Buhari.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr Abdullahi has remarried
since the passing of Zulaihat, who was born with sickle cell
anemia.