The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has heavily criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent appointments, calling them a “desperate, cynical attempt” to win back the trust of Northern Nigerians, which the party claims has been lost over the past year.
In a statement released today, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, dismissed the appointments as “too little, too late.” He added, “You cannot marginalize a region for over twenty-five months and expect applause because you suddenly remembered on the twenty-sixth month that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State.”
The ADC’s sharp words come in the wake of President Tinubu’s latest appointment announcements, which have been perceived by many as an effort to placate the North, a region that has been increasingly dissatisfied with his administration. The party contends that these appointments are part of a broader pattern of “political panic management,” meant to repair the strained relationship between the federal government and Northern Nigerians after more than a year of what it describes as neglect, presidential arrogance, and a lack of inclusion in key political decisions.
“For over a year, this government turned a blind eye as bandits terrorized villages in the North, as our farmers abandoned their land, and as rural economies crumbled under the weight of poorly thought-out fuel subsidy removal,” Abdullahi said. “Now, under the rising heat of public discontent, and with the emergence of a formidable opposition coalition gaining traction in the North and across the country, President Tinubu suddenly remembers that there are Nigerians to appoint into positions outside his Lagos.”
The ADC’s statement further criticized the lack of representation from the North in key government decisions, including the controversial fuel subsidy removal. The party claims that the bulk of the political appointments made during Tinubu’s first year in office ignored the North, leaving many in the region feeling marginalized and sidelined.
“Every major decision of this administration, from subsidy removal to a majority of the political appointments, have been taken without the North at the table,” Abdullahi continued. “Now that the consequences of those decisions have become glaring, the President is doling out appointments as consolation prizes. But Northerners as co-owners of our great federal republic know better than to be deceived by these token appointments.”
The ADC emphasized that tokenism and symbolic gestures, such as the recent appointments, are not a substitute for meaningful governance and inclusive decision-making. “Tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance,” Abdullahi said.
The party concluded its statement by urging the Tinubu administration to abandon what it referred to as “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics,” referring to the well-known Lagos political influence associated with the President’s background. Instead, the ADC called for real national inclusion through consultation, policy equity, and a commitment to the federal character of Nigeria.
“You cannot patch a broken roof with press releases and photo-ops. And you certainly cannot restore the trust that you have lost with the public by pretending that titles are a substitute for genuine commitment to nation-building,” Abdullahi concluded.
