The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent political appointments favouring Northern Nigerians, describing them as a belated and insincere attempt to regain lost trust after what it called “over a year of neglect.”

In a strongly worded statement released on Saturday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the move as “political panic management”, accusing the Tinubu-led administration of tokenism and favoritism rather than genuine national inclusion.

“You cannot marginalise a region for over twenty-five months and expect applause simply because, in the twenty-sixth month, you suddenly remember that Nigeria is bigger than Lagos State,” Abdullahi said.

The party argued that the appointments were reactionary and failed to address what it described as deep-rooted dissatisfaction across Northern Nigeria, exacerbated by worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and the removal of fuel subsidies.

“For over a year, this government turned a blind eye while bandits terrorised the North, our farmers gave up their lands, and village economies crumbled under the weight of poor fuel subsidy policies,” Abdullahi added.

The ADC also faulted the Tinubu administration for excluding Northern voices from key national decisions and described the recent appointments as “consolation prizes” rather than meaningful change.

“Tokenism is not inclusion, and symbolism is not governance,” the party stressed, warning that Northerners, as equal stakeholders in Nigeria’s democracy, “will not be fooled.”

The party urged President Tinubu to abandon what it called “Bourdillon-style appeasement politics” and instead pursue genuine federal character compliance through inclusive policies and effective leadership.

“You can’t fix a leaking roof with press statements and photo opportunities,” the ADC said.