By Beatrice Gondyi
Dr Umar Ardo, Convener of the League of Northern Democrats and a key promoter of the All-Democratic Alliance (ADA), has warned that the North may abandon President Bola Tinubu in 2027 over what he described as its exclusion from the benefits of his administration.
Ardo said that in a free and fair contest, Tinubu could poll less than 10 per cent of northern votes.
He spoke in an exclusive interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, during which he reviewed the administration’s record in the North and its likely political consequences.
At the heart of his complaint is what he called a South-west tilt in the distribution of federal resources, political appointments and other government opportunities.
Ardo said the imbalance shows up most clearly not in budget lines but in actual cash releases to federal ministries. “The budget to the ministries and the actual releases of funds — the North cannot be equated with the South at all. By far the South has received about five times more releases than the northern ministries,” he said.
He added that most parastatals had been handed to the South, deepening the conviction in the North that it has been treated unfairly.
Ardo argued that any honest assessment of the administration must look beyond the regional spread of appointments to the flow of resources and opportunities. Even so, he questioned how critical appointments were shared, saying the pattern had bred a sense of exclusion in the North.
In his words: “The perception, which is also true, is that he has Yorubanised his administration. He has given all the critical appointments to his own kinsmen and Yorubas. The Hausa/Fulanis and other extended groups in the North feel short-changed, and this perception has created damage to this administration in Northern Nigeria.”
He noted that the argument over representation is complicated by Nigeria’s ethnic and geographic overlaps, pointing to states such as Kwara and Kogi, which are often counted as part of the North despite strong Yoruba cultural and linguistic ties.
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