Northern Elders Slams Tinubu Over Appointments of New Directors, Says North Can’t Remain Just a ‘Food Basket’

Northern Elders Slams Tinubu Over Appointments of New Directors, Says North Can’t Remain Just a ‘Food Basket’

 

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has expressed strong concern over what it describes as deliberate marginalisation of Northern Nigeria in federal appointments and national economic planning, citing the recent recruitment of 15 new directors at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), of which only four are from the North.

 

Speaking during a policy dialogue in Kaduna, the NEF highlighted the development as part of a growing pattern of exclusion of Northerners from key national institutions. The forum said such disparities are not coincidental but stem from choices that risk deepening the nation’s regional fault lines.

 

“This is not just about numbers. It reflects a broader issue of fairness and national cohesion. Why were 15 new directors recently employed, with only four from Northern Nigeria?” a senior NEF official queried during the event.

 

In addition to the appointments, the NEF raised alarm over the recent relocation of several CBN departments from Abuja to Lagos. According to the group, the move reinforces the perception that federal power is being disproportionately concentrated in the South.

 

“These decisions carry consequences. The North is watching,” the official warned.

 

The forum also criticised the country’s current economic structure, which it said confines Northern Nigeria to raw agricultural production without substantial federal investment in processing, storage, or industrial growth.

 

“Northern Nigeria cannot continue to serve only as a food basket without also becoming a value-adding zone,” the group said. “It is unjust and unsustainable.”

 

The NEF called on the Federal Government to urgently invest in the economic transformation of the North through the establishment of agro-processing hubs across the region, backed by strong federal infrastructure and funding. Such steps, it argued, would not only empower the region economically but also reduce poverty and national dependency on raw commodity exports.

 

Warning that the ongoing trend of exclusion poses a serious threat to national unity, the NEF urged the government to embrace a more balanced and inclusive approach in appointments, policymaking, and developmental projects.

“Equity in governance is not a favour—it is a necessity for peace, unity, and progress,” the group concluded.