A lopsided presidency: Tyranny of Yoruba domination under Tinubu’s government

By Dahiru Yusuf Yabo

The dream of national unity, equitable federalism, and justice has suffered a brutal assassination under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

What was once a hope-laden mandate has become a divisive regime characterized by ethnic favoritism, blatant nepotism, and the monopolization of federal power by the Yoruba ethnic group, particularly those hailing from the South West.

The facts are incontrovertible, and the numbers are damning.

As of Saturday, 12th April 2025, a staggering 91 critical appointments in the Tinubu administration are occupied by Yoruba individuals, dominating every strategic, financial, economic, security, and administrative institution in Nigeria.

This unprecedented ethnic consolidation of federal power stands as an assault on the spirit of national unity, the principles of federal character, and the collective dignity of the other regions — particularly the North and the South East — whose sons and daughters have been shoved aside in a manner that reeks of arrogance, injustice, and divisive leadership.

From the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, from the Inspector General of Police to the Chief of Army Staff, from the Governor of the Central Bank to the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Yoruba dominance is absolute.

Tinubu himself occupies the position of Minister of Petroleum Resources, further tightening his grip on the nation’s oil lifeline.

Even more scandalous is the appropriation of key revenue-generating and regulatory agencies like the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

To Yoruba appointees. This is no longer governance; this is conquest.

Is this the renewed hope Nigerians were promised? A hope that would replace inclusive leadership with tribal autocracy? A hope that would reward loyalty with disenfranchisement and replace national balance with ethnic supremacism?

The North — the region with the vastest landmass and the largest population bloc — has been reduced to a mere observer in the affairs of a country it has historically helped to build and sustain. This brazen disregard for the principle of federal character undermines trust, aggravates regional tensions, and dangerously fuels disillusionment with the Nigerian project.

Even the Southeast, often accused of self-marginalization, has never been this institutionally sidelined. Where are their critical economic appointments? Where are the voices from the North Central, Northeast, and Northwest in these vital power corridors?

*The most tragic irony lies in the recent clamor from certain Southwest quarters that they “have little land and should be left alone.” Yet, the same region insists on controlling the entire country’s levers of power. If the Southwest feels constrained by land mass, what moral justification exists for it to monopolize national economic resources, strategic security positions, and administrative command structures?*

Let us be clear: this is not governance. This is a form of silent ethnic cleansing from public service. It is the weaponization of presidential power to entrench regional domination — a betrayal of our constitutional commitment to justice, equity, and national integration.

Tinubu’s presidency has shown itself to be not only tone-deaf to the nation’s diversity but also recklessly arrogant in its pursuit of Yoruba-centric domination. His appointments reflect not competence or merit, but ethnic loyalty. This is unacceptable in a plural society and cannot be allowed to stand without loud, resolute, and courageous opposition.

This is not just a Yoruba affair; this is a Nigerian tragedy.

We therefore call for an immediate review and restructuring of appointments across all federal institutions. Let the North reclaim its rightful place in national administration. Let the Southeast, South-South, and Middle Belt not be treated as peripheral participants in their own country. *Let President Tinubu understand that Nigeria is not Lagos — and cannot be ruled as one.*

Anything less is sabotage, and history will remember this era not for *“renewed hope”* but for renewed hegemony and national despair.

**Here is the authentic list of Southwest and Yoruba appointees in Tinubu’s Government as of Saturday, 12th April 2025;
1. Chief of Staff – Femi Gbajabiamila
2. Minister of Petroleum Resources – Bola Ahmed Tinubu
3. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy – Wale Edun
4. Minister of Interior – Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
5. Minister of Power – Adebayo Adelabu
6. Minister of Solid Minerals – Dele Alake
7. Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy – Bosun Tijani
8. Minister of Marine and Blue Economy – Adegboyega Oyetola
9. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment – Jumoke Oduwole
10. Minister of State, Environment – Moruf Olalekan Adebayo
11. Minister for Youth Development – Ayodele Olawande
12. Minister of State, Health – Salako Isiaq Adekunle Adeboye
13. Chief Justice of Nigeria – Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun
14. Chief of Army Staff – Olufemi Olalotunbosun Oluyede
15. Inspector General of Police – Kayode Egbetokun
16. DG, Department of State Services – Adeleai Oluwatosin Ajayi
17. Commander, Brigade of Guards – Adebis Oluasola Olasanya
18. Chief of Defence Space Administration – Larre Ibrahim Oluwatoyin
19. Commandant, National Defence College – Olumuyiwa Morakinyo Olotu
20. CG, Nigeria Customs Service – Bashir Adewale Adeniyi
21. CG, Federal Fire Service – Abdulganiyu Olayi Jaji
22. Accountant-General of the Federation – Shamsudeen Babatunde
23. Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria – Olayemi Michael Cardoso
24. Chairman, Economic & Financial Crimes Commission – Ola Olukoyede
25. Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service – Zaccheaus Adedeji Adedeji
26. CCE, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission – Gbenga Komolafe
27. DG/CEO, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency – Dayo Mobereola
28. MD/CEO, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria – Gbenga Alade
29. DG, National Pension Commission – Mojisola Yahaya
30. DG, Bureau of Public Procurement – Adebayo Adewusi
31. MD/CEO, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria – Olubunmi Oluwaseun Kuku
32. DG, Bureau of Public Enterprises – Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi
33. MD/CEO, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority – Olufemi Ogunyemi
34. Commissioner/CEO, National Insurance Commission – Olusegun Aya Omosehin
35. DG/CEO, National Identity Management Commission – Abisoye Coker-Odusote
36. DG/CEO, National Space Research and Development Agency – Matthew Adepoju
37. DG/CEO, National Centre for Technology Management – Olushola Odusanya
38. DG/CEO, National Automotive Design and Development Council – Oluseunmi Joseph Osanipin
39. Chairman, Nigerian Ports Authority Board – Adedayo Clement Adeyeye
40. MD, Federal Housing Authority – Oladimeji Oyetunde Ojo
41. ES, National Lottery Trust Fund – Tosin Adeyanju
42. DG/CEO, National Lottery Regulatory Commission – Lanre Gbajabiamila
43. CEO, Nigerian Postal Service – Omotola Odeyemi
44. CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Commission – Vincent Olatunji
45. MD/CEO, Galaxy Backbone Limited – Ibrahim Adejuyi Adeyanju
46. DG/CEO, National Biosafety Management Agency – Agnes Yemisi Asagbra
47. DG, National Agency for the Control of AIDS – Temipole Ilori
48. DG, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control – Mojirola Christianah Adeyeye
49. CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency – Muji Aina
50. DG, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control – Jide Idris
51. Statistician-General, National Bureau of Statistics – Adeyemi Adeniran
52. DG, National Sugar Development Council – Aliyu Yakubu
53. DG/CEO, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria – Lekam Badadjo
54. VC/CEO, Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission – Adetokunbo Aloba
55. National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Net Coordinating Office – Funmi Olotu
56. DG, National Sports Commission – Bukola Olawale Olopade
57. DG, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation – Folorunsho Coker
58. DG/CEO, National Orientation Agency – Lanre Issa-Onilu
59. Registrar Surveyors Council of Nigeria – Olakunle Olugbemiro
60. President/CEO Digital Bridge Institute – Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi
61. DG/CEO Industrial Training Fund – Oluwatoyin Afiz Ogun
62. DG/CEO Nigerian Institute of Medical Research – John Oladapo Obafunwa
63. DG/CEO National Institute for Hospitality Tourism – Abisoye Fagade
64. National Power Training Institute of Nigeria – Ahmed Bolaji Nagode
65. DG National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies – Ayo Omotayo
66. Administrator/CEO Public Service Institute of Nigeria – Abdul-Ganiyu Obatoyinbo
67. Registrar Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board – Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede
68. Registrar/CEO Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria – Josiah Ajiboye
69. MD/CEO Nigerian Education Loan Fund – Akintunde Sawyer
70. DG/CEO Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria – Patrick Olusami Adebola
71. MD/CEO Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation – Folashade Joseph
72. Mr. Ayo Sotinrin – MD, Bank of Agriculture
73. Sowade Oluwakayode – Executive Director, Ogun-Osun River Basin
74. Engr. Michael Oluwagbemi – Programme Director, Presidential CNG Initiative
75. Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye – DG, NYSC
76. Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade – Chairman, Nigeria Independent System Operator (NISO)
77. Mr. Idris Olurinnimbe – Chairman, UBEC
78. Prof. Balaji Akinyemi – Chairman, Nigerian Institute for International Affairs
79. Olusegun Omosehin & Engr. Wole Ogunsanya – Board Members, NCDMB
80. Senator Surajdeen Bashorun Ajibola – Chairman, National Sugar Development Council
81. Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi – Chairman, NOTAP
82. Aide-de-Camp (ADC) – Colonel Nurudeen Alowonle Yusuf
83. Special Adviser on Information and Strategy – Bayo Onanuga
84. Special Adviser on Media – Sunday Dare
85. Senior Special Assistant (Media) – Tunde Rahman
86. Senior Special Assistant on Digital and New Media – O’Tega Ogra
87. Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives) – Olarewaju Kunle Ibrahim
88. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters.
89. Director General Protocol.
90. Special Assistant Domestic.
91. Private Secretary

Yabo, Political & Security Analyst