The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has dismissed claims of northern marginalization under the current administration.
Speaking during an interview with Trust Radio, Onanuga described the accusations as politically motivated falsehoods aimed at discrediting the President’s leadership and stirring division, asserting that the President is being unfairly targeted due to his southern origin.
“This President is a Nigerian. He deserves the same two terms that Buhari had. Let’s not sacrifice the country for personal ambition,” Onanuga stated.
He emphasized that there is no factual basis to the claims that the North has been sidelined in federal appointments or infrastructural development.
According to him, Tinubu’s government has been inclusive, pointing out that top national security positions are held by Northerners.
“The National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff, and the two Defence Ministers are all Northerners,” he noted.
Onanuga also dismissed the narrative that Northern regions are being neglected in security and infrastructure, citing recent improvements in sensitive areas.
“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 said.
He urged critics to “get their statistics right,” insisting that bad roads and development challenges are not exclusive to any region and warning against what he called “political mischief” designed to undermine national unity and the President’s legitimacy.
