The Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF) says the northerners have no right to complain about President Bola Tinubu’s ‘lopsided’ appointments.
Some leaders from the region had accused Tinubu of skewed appointments in favour of the South West, the region he (Tinubu) hails from.
An Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, had during one of his sermons recently, attacked Tinubu for appointing Southern Christians into key positions, saying the President would not get a second term in office.
The cleric also accused the President of using the North to get to the Presidency only to pursue an agenda aimed at decimating the political influence of the region.
Addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the national President of NYLF, Elliot Afiyo, said Tinubu was widening the gap of alleged lopsided appointments inherited from 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.
Elliot, however, asked Tinubu to bridge the widening gap because the country must not continue in ‘error.’
He said “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 also frowned at what he called negative propaganda against the administration of Tinubu by some religious leaders in the north, calling on security agencies to call them to intervene.
Afiayo called on Tinubu “to urgently curtail the ugly trend and situation before the minds of the people are polluted, especially the northern youth in the rural areas who constitute 70% of the Northern population.” (Daily Trust)
