The presidency has described the allegation that Yoruba people head consequential agencies in Nigeria as “a cheap shot”.
According to Bayo Onanuga, one of the presidential spokespersons, the claim is ridiculous.
Legit.ng previously reported that Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna state, weighed in on Professor Farooq Kperogi’s recent criticism of alleged ethnic favouritism in President Bola Tinubu’s appointments.
In an article titled ‘Tinubu’s Buharisation of the NNPC’, Kperogi accused Tinubu of appointing Yoruba people to key positions at the petrol entity. He said an anonymous source informed him that a certain Bayo Ojulari was ‘being proposed as group managing director (GMD) after Mele Kyari’s term expires’ in early 2025.
The US-based media scholar drew parallels between Tinubu’s alleged ‘Yorubacentric’ appointments in the NNPC (also NNPCL) and the ‘Arewacentricity’ he criticised during former president, Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
Reacting to Kperogi’s latest column, El-Rufai responded via X:
“DECEMBER MESSAGE: Two wrongs do not make a right. Sensible inclusion always trumps arrogant exclusion.”
Meanwhile, in a cryptic message, a former federal lawmaker from Kaduna state, Senator Shehu Sani, criticised El-Rufai for his stance.
Sani, a political foe of El-Rufai, tweeted:
“There were people who were silent when Buhari was fielding political offices with his kinsmen, and have now found their voice to speak out when the equation doesn’t favour them. Let’s not make reference to the nepotism that marginalised Southern Kaduna for eight years. Kaduna was an apartheid state for eight years.”
‘Tinubu has no Yorubanisation agenda’ – Onanuga
Quoting Sani’s post on Sunday evening, December 29, Onanuga aligned with the former national assembly member.
He wrote:
“Senator Shehu Sani responds to El-Rufai’s cheap shot against President Tinubu.”
Kperogi’s allegations: NNPCL reacts
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the NNPCL debunked allegations of ethnic bias in its leadership structure, stating that employment decisions were based on merit.
Olufemi Soneye, the NNPCL’s chief corporate communications officer, addressed concerns raised in Kperogi’s article about the so-called agenda appointments, adding that the NNPC’s leadership structure was guided by business requirements, expertise, and merit rather than ethnicity, tribe, religion, or political affiliation.