POLITICS: ADC Slams Tinubu, Says It’s Too Late to Buy Northern Support with Token Appointments
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has lambasted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his recent wave of political appointments, describing it as a “desperate and cynical attempt” to regain the trust of Northern Nigerians after over a year of neglect.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the appointments as “too little, too late,” asserting that “you cannot marginalise a region for over twenty-five months and expect applause in the twenty-sixth simply because you suddenly remembered that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State.”
The party accused the Tinubu administration of engaging in “political panic management,” calling the new appointments a rushed effort to paper over deep fractures caused by what it termed calculated neglect, presidential aloofness, and unprecedented nepotism.
“For more than a year, this government looked the other way as bandits ravaged Northern communities, farmers abandoned their land, and rural economies collapsed under the poorly executed removal of fuel subsidies,” Abdullahi said. “Now, faced with mounting public discontent and the rise of a credible opposition coalition gaining momentum in the North and across the country, President Tinubu suddenly remembers that Northerners exist and deserve a seat at the table.”
The ADC accused the administration of excluding the North from most major decisions and appointments since assuming office, only to now offer symbolic gestures in the face of growing backlash.
“These latest appointments are nothing but consolation prizes,” the statement continued. “But Northerners — as equal stakeholders in this federation — know better. Tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance.”
The party concluded by urging the Tinubu-led government to jettison what it described as “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics” and adopt a more sincere approach to national unity, grounded in meaningful consultation, policy equity, and genuine respect for federal character.
“You can’t patch a broken roof with press statements and photo ops,” Abdullahi added. “And you certainly cannot restore lost trust by pretending that appointments alone are a substitute for real nation-building.”
