The Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF) has accused President Bola Tinubu of favouring the southern part of the country over the north in his appointments.
Addressing journalists in Abeokuta, national President of NYLF, Elliot Afiyo, said President Tinubu had carried out the “most lopsided appointments” since Nigeria gained independence in 1960.
Afiyo noted that Tinubu has taken the bar of lopsided appointments a notch higher than that of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
He argued that Buhari created a lopsided appointment gap of 80:20 for the north and the south during his administration.
He urged Tinubu to bridge the widening gap as “the country must not continue in this great error.”
His words: “Since independence, when you look at the appointment by Tafawa Balewa you will agree with me that it was 40/60 north-south and subsequent appointment by General Yakubu Gowon was trying to narrow the gap, and even in the democratic setting in 1999 under the leadership of President (Olusegun) Obasanjo. That is why I always say he is my father, because he has a nationalistic thinking.
“But Buhari came in and created the gap to be 20/80. And even the northerners that they were saying that Buhari appointed were not northerners per se. There were a few cliques, the North itself didn’t benefit from it, but we are now seeing the appointments by President Tinubu are tilting towards the South West. He narrowed the gap that Buhari created, but the gap he is creating now is also widening.
“I would say northerners don’t have the right to complain that the appointments or placements are lopsided. We don’t have the right to complain.
“But as an advanced citizen, I ask: can we continue like this? If we get an Igbo President, he will appoint Igbos. Where are we going as a nation? So, there is a need for us to balance it,” he added.