The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, questioning its approach to governance and the distribution of ministerial appointments.
Adebayo made the remarks on Thursday while speaking at the Middle Belt Forum, where he argued that effective leadership requires a thorough understanding of the country’s challenges and the ability to respond appropriately to them.
He suggested that the complexities of governing Nigeria could be overwhelming for President Tinubu, likening the situation to placing an inexperienced person in an aircraft cockpit and leaving them confronted with unfamiliar controls.
“You assume an office and you don’t know what it means, it’s like carrying a young man into the cockpit of an aircraft. He is seeing so many buttons, he does not know what that represent,” Adebayo said.
He argued that such a situation could lead a leader to make inappropriate decisions or rely excessively on others to handle critical responsibilities.
Adebayo also criticised the administration’s approach to ministerial appointments, particularly what he described as the concentration of key government positions in particular states and local government areas.
He cited the appointment of the Ministers of Finance and Interior from the same local government in his state as an example of what he considered an unfair distribution of political appointments.
“We do not have the greed to go to one state and choose three ministers for one state. Where in my state, for example, the Minister of Finance and Minister of Interior are from the same local government. Nobody who is a responsible leader will govern like that,” he said.
The SDP candidate maintained that government appointments should reflect fairness and broader representation, arguing that leadership should take into account the diversity of Nigeria’s regions and communities.
He said a responsible administration should ensure that appointments are not concentrated in particular areas at the expense of wider representation.
Adebayo’s comments come amid ongoing public debate over the performance of the Tinubu administration and its approach to governance and political appointments.
