By THEANALYSTMEDIA
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has harshly criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest round of federal appointments, describing them as a “desperate, cynical attempt” to buy back the trust of Northern Nigerians after over a year of what it called “calculated neglect and presidential arrogance”.
ADC slams Presidency2
In a strongly worded statement issued yesterday in Abuja and signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the appointments – which include figures such as Mohammed Babangida, son of former military President Ibrahim Babangida – as mere political tokenism rather than genuine efforts at national inclusion.
“You cannot marginalise 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”, Abdullahi said.
The party accused the Tinubu administration of turning a blind eye to the plight of the North – from the scourge of banditry, to the collapse of rural economies and mass farmer displacement – while pursuing a governance style it labelled: “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics”.
“For over a year, this government ignored the North as bandits ravaged villages, farmers fled their lands; and economic hardship deepened due to poorly planned policies like the fuel subsidy removal”, the ADC noted. “Now, under the heat of public discontent and the growing strength of an opposition coalition in the region, the President is handing out appointments as consolation prizes”.
The party stressed that Northerners were “co-owners of the federal republic”, and would not be swayed by symbolic gestures or appointments lacking in sincerity and substance.
“They see through President Tinubu’s actions — and can sense that this is not genuine. Tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance”, the statement read.
The ADC called on the Tinubu administration to abandon what it described as image-driven politics and embrace true national unity through meaningful consultation, equitable policy decisions, and genuine adherence to federal character principles.
“You cannot patch a broken roof with press releases and photo-ops”, the party warned. “And you certainly cannot restore lost trust by pretending that titles are a substitute for commitment to nation-building
