Northern Youth Leaders call for balanced appointments under President Tinubu

A group of northern youths, operating under the banner of the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF), has urged President Bola Tinubu not to replicate what they perceive as skewed appointments, similar to his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

While the youths acknowledged that northerners do not have grounds for complaints about Tinubu’s purported ‘lopsided’ appointments, they expressed their view that the country should not persist in the same direction.

Critics from the northern region have accused President Tinubu of favoring the southern part of the country in his choice of appointees. This criticism has included claims that Tinubu appointed more Southern Christians to key positions, allegedly overlooking northerners who played a role in his rise to power.

Addressing the press in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the National President of NYLF, Elliot Afiyo, contended that Tinubu appears to be perpetuating the alleged imbalance in appointments inherited from Buhari.

Afiyo revealed that Buhari, from 2015 to 2023, created a perceived appointment gap of 80 percent for the north and 20 percent for the south.

However, he implored Tinubu not to follow Buhari’s path in selecting his appointees, stating that “the country must not continue in error.”

Afiyo noted that previous Nigerian leaders have, since independence, been involved in biased appointments that favored their respective regions at the expense of others.

The youth leader highlighted that former President Olusegun Obasanjo attempted to narrow the appointment gap when he returned to power in 1999. However, according to Afiyo, Buhari expanded the gap to 20/80, and they believe that the appointments made by President Tinubu are increasingly leaning towards the South West.

He concluded by emphasizing that northerners may not have a legitimate basis for complaining about the perceived lopsided appointments, but as progressive citizens, it is essential to question whether the nation can continue along this path and whether there is a need to rebalance it.