Lagos APC Accuses Kperogi of Ethnic Bias Over Comments on President Tinubu’s Appointments

 

President Bola Tinubu

The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted United States-based Nigerian academic, Professor Farooq Kperogi, over his recent column titled “New INEC Boss and Tinubu’s Visibilization of Northern Yorubas,” describing it as a “mischievous spin” on President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and appointments.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesman, Hon. Seye Oladejo, the party said Kperogi’s comments were “a tired rehash of ethnic reductionism” aimed at discrediting the President’s merit-driven approach to governance.

According to Oladejo, the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was based purely on merit, competence, and integrity, not ethnicity or regional affiliation.

“For a man of supposed intellectual depth, it is disappointing that he conveniently ignores the facts. Professor Amupitan’s appointment is grounded in experience and unimpeachable character,” Oladejo said.

The Lagos APC maintained that President Tinubu has demonstrated inclusiveness in his appointments, reflecting Nigeria’s diversity across ethnic, religious, and regional lines. 

It described as “dishonest and mischievous” Kperogi’s suggestion that the appointment of a legal scholar from Kogi State was part of a “Yorubacentric” agenda.

The statement further noted that even Kperogi acknowledged Amupitan’s northern roots, Christian faith, and non-partisan record, yet still attempted to portray his appointment as an ethnic project. “That contradiction alone betrays the emptiness of his argument,” Oladejo added.

The party argued that Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” prioritizes competence over geography and accused Kperogi of being fixated on ethnicity. 

“If he were less obsessed with ethnic framing and more concerned with truth, he would have celebrated the President for giving visibility to a minority group within the North,” the statement said.

Oladejo described Kperogi’s views as “a relic of the politics of resentment,” insisting that President Tinubu does not rely on ethnic politics to consolidate legitimacy. 

He noted that Tinubu’s leadership history, from his tenure as Lagos State governor to his presidency, has reflected “a cosmopolitan and bridge-building approach.”

“The appointment of Professor Amupitan is a win for the law, for competence, and for Nigeria. To reduce it to an ethnic calculation is to insult the intelligence of the Nigerian people,” the statement concluded.