Onanuga: Ndume stoking divisive narratives — his kinsmen got recent NNPC appointments

Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, has faulted Ali Ndume’s claim that the president’s political appointments are lopsided.

Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday, Ndume, the senator representing Borno south, said Tinubu’s appointments have not reflected the diversity mandated by section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution.

The Borno senator described the appointments as violations of the constitutional provision for federal character.

Responding to the lawmaker’s comment, Onanuga, in a statement released on his X handle on Tuesday, said Ndume’s statement on Tinubu’s appointment “reeks of hypocrisy and selective perception”.

The presidential aide said Ndume forgot to mention during his interview that the president recently appointed two of his kinsmen to positions in Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

“While the Borno senator grandstanded as a moral authority on equity, he forgot to tell his interviewer that two of his kinsmen featured in recent NNPC Limited top appointments,” Onanuga wrote.

“The Chairman, appointed by President Tinubu, is from Ndume’s senatorial district. If Tinubu and his surrogates’ choices are so “tribal,” how did two of Ndume’s kinsmen clinch NNPC’s top roles?

“As a politician, Ndume has proven time and time again that he is allergic to facts and addicted to theatrics. His habit of firing half-baked criticisms — only to be contradicted by facts — proves he’s more interested in headline-chasing, rabble rousing, stoking divisive narratives than offering constructive criticism.

“President Tinubu is deeply committed to fostering a government that embraces all Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic or regional affiliations. He aims to harness our nation’s diverse strengths to achieve a common goal: building a prosperous Nigeria.

“The President’s appointments are—and will continue to be—based on merit, integrity, geographical spread, and a demonstrable capacity to serve the Nigerian people, not Ndume’s cherry-picked tribal arithmetic.

“We urge Ndume to elevate public discourse and avoid misinformation and baseless criticism. This is a disservice to the nation and the behaviour least expected from a Nigerian Senator.”