…Baba-Ahmed, Naja’atu Moh’d speak out
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent endorsement for a second term in 2027 by North-West All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders has drawn sharp criticism from notable northern political figures, who accuse the administration of neglecting the region’s suffering population and fostering regional favoritism.
Recall that at a recent gathering in Kaduna, the Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, moved a Motion endorsing Tinubu for re-election, which was seconded by Kebbi State governor, Nasir Idris.
The endorsement was accompanied by a ‘vote of confidence’ in the President and a pledge of automatic second-term tickets for APC governors in the North-West. APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, cited Tinubu’s commitment to regional development as justification for the support.
However, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President, condemned the move as politically tone-deaf. In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Baba-Ahmed said the North-West’s political elite appeared detached from the realities of the people they govern.
According to him, “APC Govs in NW recently endorsed PBAT, endorsed themselves and every elected office-holder and defectors from the region. They forgot the people who will judge all politicians against their exposure to violence, death and poverty. It’s almost as if they think people don’t matter”.
Baba-Ahmed, who recently resigned from Tinubu’s administration, warned that the people of the North-West would hold their leaders accountable in the 2027 elections for the region’s enduring insecurity, poverty, and social dislocation.
Echoing similar concerns, Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, a prominent northern politician and former member of Tinubu’s presidential campaign team, accused the Tinubu administration of governing with a narrow, ethnocentric focus.
Speaking on the Political Advantage Platform (PAP) podcast, Naja’atu alleged that Tinubu was using national resources primarily to benefit his South-West base, sidelining national unity in favor of Yoruba regionalism.
“I have nothing personal against Tinubu, but it is clear that everything in his government is about Yorubas for Yorubas and by Yorubas,” she said. “Are we trying to balkanize the country into ethnic fiefdoms?”
Naja’atu also blamed the country’s deepening economic woes on Tinubu’s failure to listen to Nigerians, arguing that the administration’s disconnect from public sentiment and disregard for inclusive governance has worsened national hardship. She added that insecurity remains a major obstacle to development, and that Tinubu’s much-touted experience as a former governor of Lagos has yet to translate into effective national leadership.
