By Ismaeel Aleem
The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed allegations by academic Farooq Kperogi that President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman reflects an agenda to “visibilize” Northern Yorubas.
The APC branded Kperogi’s claims as “mischievous” and a distortion of Tinubu’s merit-driven leadership.
In a statement issued on Sunday by spokesperson Seye Oladejo, the APC condemned Kperogi’s article, “New INEC Boss and Tinubu’s Visibilization of Northern Yorubas,” as a “tired rehash” of ethnic reductionism.
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“It is unfortunate that a respected academic like Kperogi deploys his pen for distortion and ethnic mischief rather than truth,” Oladejo stated, insisting that Amupitan’s appointment was based on his impeccable credentials as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, not his ethnicity.
Oladejo highlighted Tinubu’s track record of inclusive governance, noting that his appointments reflect Nigeria’s diverse ethnic and religious fabric.
“To suggest that appointing a distinguished scholar from Kogi State is a ‘Yorubacentric’ ploy is dishonest,” he argued, pointing out Kperogi’s own admission that Amupitan, a Christian from North Central Nigeria, has no record of partisanship.
“This contradiction betrays the emptiness of his argument,” Oladejo added.
The APC rejected Kperogi’s framing as a relic of divisive politics, asserting that Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda prioritises competence over geography.
“From the South-East to the far North, his cabinet embodies national balance,” Oladejo said, citing Tinubu’s history of cosmopolitan governance since his tenure as Lagos Governor.
He dismissed the notion of “visibilizing Northern Yorubas” as ethnic bait, arguing that Tinubu’s pan-Nigerian mandate, secured through broad voter support, negates such calculations.
Urging commentators to rise above ethnic lenses, Oladejo celebrated Amupitan’s appointment as a triumph for merit and inclusion, particularly for a minority group in the North. “To reduce it to an ethnic conspiracy is to insult Nigerians’ intelligence,” he stated.
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The APC accused Kperogi of projecting “ethnic anxieties” onto Tinubu’s bridge-building leadership, urging him to move beyond divisive narratives.
“Nigeria has progressed; Kperogi should too,” Oladejo concluded, reaffirming the party’s commitment to unity and competence in governance.
