Biodun Ajiboye, Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), has strongly defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appointment policies, arguing that statistical evidence shows a positive skew toward northern Nigeria, while dismissing critics as “political merchants” driven by personal grievances.
Speaking in defense of the current administration’s appointment strategy, Ajiboye drew a sharp distinction between legitimate political discourse and what he characterized as commercially motivated criticism.
“At this point in Nigeria, we should begin to understand that there are those people who play proper politics and those that are political merchants, just commercial politicians. They cry wolf when there is no basis for such,” Ajiboye stated.
The NICO Executive Secretary cited statistical evidence to support his argument, claiming that data contradicts the narrative being promoted by critics.
“All the statistics available with respect to Asiwaju’s choice of projects, choice of appointments have been skewed positively towards the north. So the people speaking are not speaking on the basis of statistics available,” he explained.
Ajiboye attributed the criticism to personal motivations rather than genuine regional concerns, suggesting that detractors are misrepresenting their individual positions as collective northern sentiment.
“They are speaking on the basis of their personal discomfort or personal unhappiness or personal bitterness. And they are trying to say that the north is speaking. The north is not speaking. They are the ones that are speaking,” he declared.
In a direct reference to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Ajiboye challenged the notion that individual politicians can claim to represent entire regional interests.
“If you take a person like Malam El-Rufai, for instance, and he tries to let you know that he’s speaking for the north, we are all intelligent enough to know that he’s not speaking for the north,” he stated.
The comments come amid ongoing debates about regional balance in federal appointments and project distribution, with various stakeholders offering different assessments of the current administration’s approach to national integration and equity.
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