Out of the 23 most strategic security positions in the country under President Bola Tinubu, the South East and South South geopolitical zones got one each, while the South West and the three Northern zones shared the 21 amongst them, with the North West taking eight, followed by the South West with five.
This is according to a list of strategic security positions shared by the Special Adviser to the President on Public Communications and Orientation, Sunday Dare, on Saturday.
According to the list, the North West has the highest appointees (eight), followed by the South West (five), North Central (four) and North East (three), while South South and South East have one each.
Dare who shared the list, was trying to counter claims in some quarters that Tinubu is favouring the Yoruba ethnic group in strategic appointments.
“Facts do not lie. Below we see laid bare the facts about the regional outlook of President Tinubu’s appointments within 20 security agencies. The label of him favouring Yorubas in the Security set up does not fit. Nigeria we hail thee!,” Dare captioned the post.
Following the appointment of Major General Olufemi Oluyede as Acting Chief of Army Staff, many Nigerians took to social media to accuse Tinubu of “Yorubanisation” of Nigeria.
Oluyede was appointed to stand in for General Tahoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, who has been away from the country treating an undisclosed ailment.
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, had earlier on Saturday, cautioned President Tinubu over what it described as his bias and preference for the Yoruba in federal appointments.
The group made this known in a statement by its leader and the National Publicity Secretary, Ayo Adebanjo, and Justice Faleye, respectively, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
It warned that the development could threaten inter-ethnic relationships and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria.
The statement partly read, “We can never condone the outrageous bias by Tinubu to make Yorubas head of all arms of the criminal justice system (EFCC, DSS, Attorney-General and Chief Justice); the economy (Coordinating Minister of the economy, CBN, Finance, Blue Economy, Digital Economy, Trade, Industries and Investment, Bank of Industry, Solid Minerals); as well as the forces (army, police, customs, immigration, DSS).
“Afenifere can’t use several decades to fight against Fulani hegemony only to support Yoruba or any other hegemony. Afenifere bitterly complained that President Buhari’s northern hegemony can’t remain mute on ethnic hegemony, as being perpetrated by Tinubu.
“Buhari was accused of bias for the North, with three regions, not to talk of Tinubu bias not for the South, but a single ethnicity and single region. Our progenitor, Chief Obafemi Awolowo once threatened to curse anyone that tied Afenifere to Yoruba only.
“By the virtue of our name, Afenifere, meaning those that want good for all humans, and as omoluabi Yorubas, we won’t support any government that engages in undemocratic practices. Nor would we support a government whose first year pushed over 14 million people into poverty with anti-people policies.
“President Tinubu is no stranger to Afenifere, but having backed him into power in 1999, and witnessed his 24-year precedents in Lagos, it would have been wicked and morally irresponsible to support him into power as President.
“This was why the true Afenifere supported Peter Obi and was in-charge of his presidential campaign headed by Akin Osuntokun, an Afenifere chieftain.”
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