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Onanuga says criticisms against Tinubu are politically motivated and sectional.
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Insists Northern leaders should wait their turn like Southerners did under Buhari.
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Denies claims of marginalisation, cites key Northern appointments in security sector.
The Presidency has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves a second term in office just as former President Muhammadu Buhari did, warning Northern politicians to stop undermining the current administration through claims of marginalisation.
Speaking on Trust Radio, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, dismissed criticisms from the Arewa Consultative Forum and other Northern political figures, describing them as part of a calculated political mischief aimed at destabilising the southern presidency.
“This President is a Nigerian. He deserves the same two terms that Buhari had. Let’s not sacrifice the country for personal ambition,” Mr Onanuga stated, making it clear that power rotation must be respected.
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He accused critics of exploiting the ethnic card to portray the Tinubu-led government as being biased against the North, but insisted that the development challenges cited are not peculiar to any region.
“You need to get your statistics right. It’s all political mischief designed to undermine the President. There are bad roads across the country, not just in the North,” he said.
Reacting to claims that the President is favouring his South-West base in federal appointments, Mr Onanuga challenged his critics to provide facts, not vague assumptions. According to him, the current government has ensured regional balance in appointments, especially in the security architecture.
“The National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff, and the two Defence Ministers are all Northerners,” he emphasised, stressing that the accusations lack merit.
He further pointed to recent gains in Northern security as proof that the Tinubu administration is working for the entire country. “Places like Birnin Gwari and Igabi (in Kaduna) are now safer. I drove from Kaduna to Abuja without incident, a journey that was once unthinkable,” he added.
