The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of insensitivity to the severe hardships faced by Nigerians and prioritizing early re-election campaigns over addressing pressing national issues. The Northern socio-political group, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Muhammad-Baba, highlighted alarming levels of insecurity, particularly in the northern region, contrasting it with what it described as government profligacy and reckless spending.
The ACF expressed deep disappointment that despite the ongoing national challenges, the Tinubu government and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appear more concerned with “unprecedented early campaigns, defections and other maneuvers for re-election in 2027” than with confronting the pervasive security threats and other existential problems plaguing the nation.
The Forum lamented that while citizens are constantly urged to endure and make sacrifices, public officials are allegedly engaged in extravagant expenditures and wasteful use of public funds. The statement specifically pointed to a controversial allegation of budget padding in the 2025 federal budget, citing provisions for streetlights at an “unimaginable cost of over N260 million each.”
“A most perverse illustration of reckless profligacy of public expenditure has been the revelation about insertions in the 2025 federal budget, for the provision of streetlights at a staggering and unimaginable costs of over N260 million each,” the ACF statement read. “That there has to date been no official denial of such crassly reckless and surreal insertions attests to the insensitivity of public officials and political representatives to the plight of ordinary Nigerians, whose living conditions continue to deteriorate all round.”
The ACF further warned that such budgetary irregularities are likely replicated at state levels, contributing to a “fundamental malaise in the political economy” that demands urgent attention. The forum also criticized what it termed “delusional hubris and head-in-the-sand claims” by security officials, which it said ignore the stark realities faced by state governors and local communities.
“Such obsessions and claims only ignore or give blind eyes to possible mass disillusionment, despair, discontent, hopelessness and angst of the populace,” the statement continued. The ACF lauded Nigerians’ resilience, particularly their ability to observe occasions like Eid despite the hardships, but cautioned that this resilience “ought not to be taken for granted.”
The ACF’s call adds to growing public discourse regarding governance and accountability in Nigeria, urging the federal government to re-evaluate its priorities and focus squarely on improving the lives and security of its citizens.
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