The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s recent appointments, particularly those aimed at the North, describing them as a desperate attempt to quell growing discontent rather than a sincere step towards national unity.

In a statement on Friday, Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, accused the president of sidelining the North for “over twenty-five months” and now resorting to what he called “political panic management.”

“You cannot marginalise a region for over twenty-five months and expect applause because you suddenly remembered on the twenty-sixth month that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State,” Abdullahi said.

He argued that the administration had failed to involve Northern leaders in key decision-making processes while the region faced escalating insecurity, abandoned farmlands, and economic strain from policies like the fuel subsidy removal.

“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,” the statement read. “Now, under the rising heat of public discontent… Tinubu suddenly remembers there are Nigerians to appoint outside his Lagos.”

The ADC described the new appointments as “consolation prizes” and rejected them as mere optics. Abdullahi said Northerners “know better than to be deceived,” adding that “tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance.”

He called on President Tinubu to move away from what he termed “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics” and pursue genuine national cohesion through equitable policymaking, broad consultation, and respect for the federal character principle.