Former Senator representing Kaduna North, Shehu Sani, has cautioned President Bola Tinubu not to imitate his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari on appointments.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television Sunday Politics, the former lawmaker urged President Tinubu to proritise competence in his appointments.

According to Sani, nepotism was at its peak during Buhari’s eight-year administration which lasted between May 2015 and May 2023.

He noted that there were no positive results in all areas of governance, particularly in security, economy, education and healthcare.

He said, “I will advise President Tinubu to be careful not to make the mistakes of President Buhari, and I believe he is experienced to understand this.

“Under President Buhari, you have ministers that were appointed into office for the whole of eight years; they were with him for the first tenure and the second tenure, and there was no cabinet reshuffle, no removal.

“Even if there was a removal, it takes three to four months to replace a minister. That was the way the country was governed.

“Under Buhari, we have seen nepotism at its peak where people were appointed into office and left there even if they did nothing.

“Service chiefs were retained in office despite their failures, and by retaining them, you destroyed the careers of those behind them. For many years, many officers were retired to appoint one person.

“If this country has to move forward, we must treat the issue of competency as the qualification for appointment,” he said.

The Kaduna lawmaker mentioned that the situation in the north is as a result of the failure of political leaders, especially those from the northern region, who did not use their political power to reduce underdevelopment in the 19 states of the region.

“What has all these powers been used for? It has not been used for the benefit of our people for a very long time,” he stated.