ADC to Tinubu: You Can’t Buy the North with Last-Minute Moves

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest appointment announcements have been characterized by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a “desperate, cynical attempt to buy back the trust that he has spent over a year squandering, particularly in Northern Nigeria.”
The ADC criticized the alleged appointments as “too little, too late” in a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s national publicity secretary.
The party went on to say that Tinubu cannot ignore a region for more than 25 months and demand praise because “you suddenly remembered on the twenty-sixth month that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State.”

The ADC says these appointments are merely “political panic management.”

It said that the nominations are a desperate attempt to cover up the severe injuries that Northern Nigeria has sustained from more than a year of deliberate neglect, presidential haughtiness, and unheard-of nepotism.

According to the statement: “This government ignored the bandits terrorizing northern villages, our farmers abandoning their land, and the collapse of rural economies due to the removal of poorly planned fuel subsidies for more than a year.”

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Now, as public dissatisfaction grows and a strong opposition coalition gains momentum in the North and throughout the nation, President Tinubu is suddenly reminded that there are Nigerians to appoint to positions outside of Lagos.

From eliminating subsidies to making the majority of political appointments, this administration has made all of its significant decisions without consulting the North. The President is giving appointments as consolation prizes now that the repercussions of his choices are evident. However, Northerners are aware that they are co-owners of our wonderful federal republic and should not be fooled by these symbolic appointments. They recognize that President Tinubu’s acts are not sincere. Symbolism is not government, and tokenism is not inclusiveness.

With consultation, policy equity, and genuine federal character, the ADC called on the Tinubu administration to move away from what it called “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics” and toward true national inclusion.

“Press releases and photo ops can’t fix a broken roof. And by acting as though titles are a stand-in for a sincere dedication to nation-building, you’re not going to win back the public’s trust,” the party stated.