Tinubu administration’s policies further strain South East, South West relations

Recent policy decisions by President Bola Tinubu administration have intensified tensions between Nigeria’s South East and South West regions, according to political observers and stakeholders from both zones.

Growing concerns among South East political leaders and civil society groups about perceived exclusion from key federal appointments and infrastructure projects have contributed to deteriorating inter-regional relations that were already fragile.

Several Igbo political figures and organizations have expressed dissatisfaction with what they describe as insufficient representation in the current administration’s cabinet and board appointments, as well as concerns about the distribution of federal projects and resources.The tensions reflect broader questions about Nigeria’s federal character principle and equitable representation that have persisted across multiple administrations, with various regions periodically raising similar concerns about marginalization.Political analysts suggest that addressing these perceptions through inclusive governance and transparent resource allocation could help rebuild trust between the regions and strengthen national cohesion.

A commentator, analyst and newspaper commentator, Steve Osuji, toed this line when news filtered through that an Igbo, and the pioneer director general of Nigeria Council on Climate Change, NCCC, Dr Nkiruka Chidia Maduekwe was sacked.

Osuji who described the scenario as “Another attrition against Ndigbo”, noted as follows: “What has Maduekwe done? Nigeria woke up yesterday to learn that the pioneer DG of the Nigerian Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dr Nkiruka Chidia  Maduekwe has been dismissed.

“The position was filled with another woman, Ms Omotenioye Majekodunmi. Nigerians deserved to know why Maduekwe was yanked from an office she was appointed to only mid last year (June) as a pioneer. Since inception the Tinubu administration has marginalised the South East zone of Nigeria exhaustively and is indeed, in the practise of removing Igbo appointees and replacing them with Yoruba”.

Osuji pointed out that “If this is another such case then it would indeed, amount to nepotism at it’s most brazen height. Is Maduekwe’s sack as a result of non-performance or malfeasance? Nigerians deserve to know. That is the mark of a transparent and accountable governance that lives by probity and openness”.

The analyst concluded thus “The SE zone is already irreparably marginalised by the Tinubu administration that it would be unconscionable to vire even the crumbs they hold to the southwest that already has a disproportionate number of appointees”.

The feeling of Igbo  marginalization by the Tinubu administration by  an overwhelming majority of South Easterners gained ascendency following the renaming of Charly Boy Bus-stop. Igbo traders, artisans, youths and women claim that the action was irritating, inciting even as it was unprovoked.