Dr Cyril Tsenyil, NCDC MD/CEO
By Shabul Mazadu
It’s a known fact that not everyone is impressed with someone’s elective victory at whatever election, likewise, not everyone is impressed with someone’s political appointment.
If not there wouldn’t be court cases after elections or opposition in every appointment. This is something we cannot run away from. That also is the beauty of democracy.
The fuss that greeted the appointment of Cyril Tsenyil as Managing Director of North-Central Development Commission, NCDC, where a group of people from Plateau is alleged to have planned massive protest to show its displeasure is common.
Letep Dabang, then All Progressives Congress, APC, Chairman, attempted mobilizing protests against the nomination of Dame Pauline Tallen as Minister in 2019 before it was blown open and he denied it.
Despite the exposé, someone sponsored some people who wrote a protest letter to the presidency from Plateau castigating Tallen and disqualifying her for the position.
When President Muhammadu Buhari promised to appoint the Secretary to the Government of Federation, SGF, from North Central, and agitation for Dame Pauline Tallen to secure the position ensued, then Governor, Simon Lalong wasn’t comfortable with that and threw his support for George Akume, the current SGF.
The fuss over the position became so problematic so much that Buhari ended up maintaining the status quo, by sparing Boss Mustapha to continue as the SGF.
Virtually everyone is guilty of opposing a winner and an appointee who tallies not with their choice.
Dariye wasn’t happy with the choice of Damishi Sango as Minister when he was governor.
Jang wasn’t happy with the choice of Dasuki Nakande as Minister when he was governor.
Lalong wasn’t happy with the choices of Solomon Dalung and Pauline Tallen as Ministers when he was governor.
The APC and its angels were not happy with the victory of the PDP in 2023 general elections.
PDP and its angels were not happy with the court cases that cost them both the state and federal legislative seats.
If virtually everybody is guilty, why demonising those whose time has come to express their displeasure, and calling them enemies of Plateau?
Who is an enemy of Plateau? An enemy of Plateau is someone who works against all productive, progressive and prosperous measures of the state.
The question is, were the purported protesters demanding the removal of the NCDC MD from Plateau?
If yes, to which state? And if no, but substitution of Tsenyil, then, they are not enemies of the state.
They should be heard and countered, that is how things are done.
The only way they can be countered is through superior arguments with concrete facts.
Is everything right with the appointment of Cyril Tsenyil as NCDC MD?
Who lobbied for him, and why? Was it for the general interest of Plateau and the entire North-Central or was it in preparation of the 2027 elections?
Does Tsenyil possess the wherewithal to perform well? If yes, what are the indices? If no, why appointing him? Let’s look at it politically and credibility wise.
Babatunde Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State and Minister of Works under the Buhari administration said, “Those who will benefit from the commonwealth must contribute to the common purse.”
By this postulation, Fashola means whoever contributes to political victory, must be partaker of its benefits.
But this is abused by the “APC leader” in Plateau State, Simon Lalong, and that has been his attitude since when he was a governor.
It is the same attitude that led to the defeat of the APC in 2023 general elections that is being played again.
Lalong is totally lopsided in all the appointments he secured at the Federal Government.
The appointments favoured only his side at the expense of other areas that laboured for the party.
Therefore, if any area feels sidelined, it has the right to cry out even through protests and there is nothing wrong with that.
Likewise, the proponents of the appointment can still defend their case through talking or protest too.
Let’s look at capacity. Was Tsenyil given the position based on merit from his antecedents?
What are his antecedents when he was Plateau State Accountant General for eight years?
As an accountant, he had the knowledge of governance, economics, business and budget, because accounting course involves parts of government or political science, economics, statistics and others.
The duty of Accountant General is to keep all records of government’s financial transactions, which include all records of accrued and disbursed funds, loans taken and loans paid; and above all to guide the government in judicious expenditures of resources and excellent IGR generation.
Nobody had the better chance of restraining Lalong as governor from wastage of public funds through replicating of projects and collecting huge loans to spend on non-funds recovery projects which led to high indebtedness of the state like Tsenyil.
Lalong wasted resources on legacy projects which there were already existing structures which could have been used for them.
The funds used for starting new ones could have been injected into them to make them functional.
Dariye used Government College Garkawa for College of Agriculture, and flagged it off since and till date its running smoothly.
Lalong didn’t follow suit. For instance, if the funds used in constructing a general hospital in Barkin Ladi which was left totally uncompleted, were sunk into the hospital started by Jang, the hospital would have been functional today.
Take a look at that of Bokkos, if the funds sunk in starting a new hospital was sunk in Bokkos General hospital, it would have been great, but he didn’t do that.
Instead, he increased the number of uncompleted projects and leaving existing structures in a dilapidating state.
That was a terrible economic plan for a poor state like Plateau.
Where was the Accountant General, and what was his advice? He can’t exonerate himself from this economic blunder.
As a man who knew economics and judicious utilization of funds, what advice did he give when Lalong planned to construct British-America Flyover?
He knew that the bridge would only consume funds without generating revenue and has no part in human index development which was profusely lacking.
That was when hospitals and other institutions were begging for attention, and farmers were seeking serious security on their farms to stem food insecurity and boost the economy?
British-America Flyover has seriously drawn Plateau backward because of the loans collected and with no funds generating ability.
Loans are supposed to be invested on projects that will pay back the principal and generate sustainable interest for the state.
What advice did Tsenyil give Lalong when all these errors were perpetrated?
With these antecedents and many more, can someone who resists Tsenyil’s appointment be accused of hating Plateau and be justified?
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe said, “Coming events must first cast their shadow and only fools can fail to decipher the handwriting on the wall of destiny.”
Tsenyil and the Lalong administration have shown their economic incapability for eight years, and anybody who doubts his capacity cannot be faulted.
Appointments are not meant to satisfy anybody’s political ambition but to move the country forward. Therefore they should be made on credibility.
There should be even distribution of political appointments and they should be done to foster development and not for boosting political empires.
Remember, every region was given a Development Commission by the Federal Government for egalitarianism to take its course.
Why then supporting a political opportunist in his lopsidedness since he was governor in securing appointments and to make it appear as Plateau project?
If there was no egalitarianism, would the NCDC exist to the level of appointing someone from Plateau?
Care must be taken in what we support today, because they will surely be reference points tomorrow.
Nobody should be bullied into silence with the slogan, “Plateau Enemy” so long as they didn’t clamour for the removal of the MD from the state.
We all have the right to speak our minds, and express our views on vital issues.
