The war of words between the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Presidency continued on Saturday with the coalition party telling President Bola Tinubu that he can’t buy the North with token appointments.
The ADC has described the recent announcement of appointments by President Tinubu as a “desperate, cynical attempt to buy back the trust that he has spent over a year squandering, particularly in Northern Nigeria.”
In a statement signed by Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary, the ADC dismissed the so-called appointments as “too little, too late,” adding that “you cannot marginalise a region for over 25 months and expect applause because you suddenly remembered in the 26th month that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State.”
According to the ADC, these appointments are nothing more than “political panic management,” a frantic attempt to bandage the gaping wounds inflicted on Northern Nigeria by over a year of calculated neglect, presidential arrogance and unprecedented nepotism.
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“For over a year, this government turned a blind eye as bandits terrorised villages in the north, as our farmers abandoned their land, and as rural economies crumbled under the weight of poorly thought-out fuel subsidy removal,” Abdullahi said.
“Now, under the rising heat of public discontent, and with the emergence of a formidable opposition coalition gaining traction in the North and across the country, President Tinubu suddenly remembers that there are Nigerians to appoint into positions outside his Lagos.
“Every major decision of this administration, from subsidy removal to a majority of the political appointments, have been taken without the North at the table. Now that the consequences of those decisions have become glaring, the President is doling out appointments as consolation prizes.
“But Northerners as co-owners of our great federal republic know better than to be deceived by these token appointments.
“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 ADC spokesperson said.
The ADC concluded by urging Tinubu’s government to abandon what it described as “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics,” and embrace real national inclusion through consultation, policy equity, and sincere federal character.
“You cannot patch a broken roof with press releases and photo-ops. And you certainly cannot restore the trust that you have lost with the public by pretending that titles are a substitute for genuine commitment to nation-building,” Abdullahi said.
Meanwhile, the Presidency had earlier called the outburst from the ADC regarding the state burial of Muhammadu Buhari, the former President a laughable tantrum.
The ADC had hit out at Tinubu’s government for exploiting the death and burial of Buhari for political gains. Abdullahi in a statement on Friday said Tinubu’s government is only whitewashing its battered image with Buhari’s death, calling it a cynical and opportunistic attempt.
The coalition party in the statement also condemned the choreographed Federal Executive Council (FEC) tribute and the publicised appearance of Buhari’s grieving son, Yusuf, as “a calculated public relations (PR) stunt by an unpopular government.”
Reacting on Saturday, Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser, Media & Public Communication/Spokesperson to President Tinubu said the latest outburst from the ADC regarding Buhari’s state burial is nothing but an opportunistic exercise in manufactured outrage, a laughable tantrum by a poorly amalgamated political contraption desperately clutching at straws for relevance it will never attain.
Dare said this is not the first time the ADC in its pitiful, stuttering attempts at reinvention has embarrassed itself with hollow, attention-seeking criticisms and press releases.
“A party still grappling with an identity crisis presumes lecturing the President of the Federal Republic on governance, decorum, and public accountability. How utterly ridiculous,” Dare wrote on his official X account.
“Since its emergence, the ADC has resorted to issuing disjointed press statements on every passing event to remind Nigerians it now exists. In its desperation to look like an opposition party, it has now crossed every known line of decency.
“Their latest press release, alleging that President Tinubu’s government is “exploiting” the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gain, is not only dishonest, it is an insult to millions of Nigerians who genuinely mourn the loss of a statesman, and who watched the state burial accorded Buhari with solemn respect and dignity.
“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government. They have chosen to dance on his grave for relevance.”
Platforms Africa
