Presidency has apologised for errors in the list of appointments released to counter the narrative about President Bola Tinubu’s alleged lopsided appointments.
The President’s appointments have been a topic of conversation, as opposition politicians accuse him of favouring his tribesmen and women over Nigerians from other ethnic groups.
Senator Ali Ndume, an APC lawmaker representing Borno South, in a recent interview with Arise Television, accused the President of violating the federal character principle in his appointments.
Ndume said he decided to call the President’s attention to his ‘lopsided appointment’ because, as a lawmaker, he had the right to criticise the President even though they belonged to the same party.
Responding to the allegation, however, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, released a list showing President Tinubu’s appointees from each geopolitical zone.
But the omission of key appointees, including the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, triggered further debate on social media. The list showed that the President had appointed 29 people from the South West, his home region, 35 from the North West, 22 from the South-South, 16 from the South East, 25 from North Central and 24 from the North East.
The President’s critics have pointed out that the list was not comprehensive, as the name of a major appointee from the President’s home region was missing.
The omission of the President’s Chief of Staff from the list further strengthened the regional imbalance narrative against President Tinubu’s administration, as the list clearly showed that the South East was highly underrepresented in his government. As the document sparked debate on social media, Sunday Dare tendered an apology for the errors in the list.
“We have noticed a number of errors in the list of appointments tweeted. We are sorry. We will provide an updated list later. Thank you,” Dare appealed to Nigerians on X.
However, Dare did not explain why Gbajabiamila’s name was omitted from the list. The list, featuring over 150 appointments, revealed that Tinubu focused on assigning high-level, often referred to as ‘juicy,’ positions predominantly to his South-West home region.
Key appointments in the South-West include Wale Edun (Minister of Finance), Dele Alake (Minister of Solid Minerals), Kayode Egbetokun (Inspector General of Police), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja (Chief of Army Staff), Adeola Ajayi (Director General of the Department of State Services), Olanipekun Olukoyede (Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), Femi Gbajabiamila (Chief of Staff), among other top positions.
The South-East received the fewest appointments into President Tinubu’s government, sparking criticism and renewed debates about regional equity and inclusion in Nigeria’s governance.
Critics argued that Tinubu’s appointment pattern had underscored long-standing concerns about the ethnic imbalance in federal leadership in the country. However, Tinubu’s supporters have insisted that competence and loyalty have guided the President’s choices in the appointment.
