ADC Criticises Tinubu’s Northern Appointments as ‘Too Late and Too Tokenistic’

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent federal appointments, labelling them a desperate and belated attempt to regain political goodwill, particularly in Northern Nigeria.

In a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the appointments as “too little, too late,” arguing that they reflect a pattern of exclusion and disregard that has characterised Tinubu’s administration over the past 25 months.

“You cannot marginalise a region for over two years simply because you suddenly remembered on the twenty-sixth month that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State,” the statement reads.

The party accused the president of engaging in “political panic management,” claiming that the recent appointments are merely a cosmetic effort to placate a region suffering from insecurity, economic hardship, and systematic exclusion from national decision-making.

“For over a year, this government has turned a blind eye as bandits terrorised ages, farmers abandoned their lands, and local economies collapsed under the burden of fuel subsidy removal,” Abdullahi stated.

He added that the timing of the appointments—amid rising public discontent and the growing strength of a united opposition coalition in the North suggests that the president’s actions are more about political survival than genuine national inclusion.

“Tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance,” the statement asserted, warning that Northerners “can see through the president’s actions” and will not be swayed by what the party described as “consolation prizes.”

The ADC urged President Tinubu to abandon what it called “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics” and adopt a governance model rooted in equity, broad consultation, and sincere adherence to federal character principles.

“You cannot patch a broken roof with press releases and photo opportunities. Titles are no substitute for genuine commitment to nation-building,” Abdullahi concluded.

On Friday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Muhammad Babangida, the son of the former military president, as chairman of the revamped Bank of Agriculture, a move some see as his attempt to secure the Northern vote bloc ahead of the 2027 election.

Other appointments included Lydia Kalat Musa (Kaduna State) as Chairman of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA), Jamilu Wada Aliyu (Kano State) as Chairman of the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Hon. Yahuza Ado Inuwa (Kano State) as Chairman of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Sanusi Musa (SAN, Kano State) as Chairman of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), and Prof. Al-Mustapha Alhaji Aliyu (Sokoto State) as Director-General of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA).

Additionally, Sanusi Garba Rikiji (Zamfara State) has been appointed as Director-General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN), Mrs. Tomi Somefun (Oyo State) as Managing Director of the National Hydro-Electric Power Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), and Dr. Abdulmumini Mohammed Aminu-Zaria (Kaduna State) as Executive Director of the Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC).