Claims Tinubu favouring South West in appointments of heads of security agencies misleading – Aide

Sunday Dare, the special adviser on public communication and orientation to President Bola Tinubu, says “the label” that the administration favours south-west in appointing heads of security agencies “does not fit”. 

In a post on his X account on Sunday, the presidential aide shared a table comprising the heads of 20 security agencies and the region of the country they hail from.

Dare’s post followed the backlash that trailed Tinubu’s appointment of Olufemi Oloyede as the acting chief of army staff (COAS).

Many Nigerians on social media accused the president of favouring the south-west where he hails from in his appointments.

Oloyede will act in the position pending the return of the indisposed Taoreed Lagbaja, the substantive COAS.

However, according to a table shared by Dare, the north-west has the highest number of current security chiefs, with eight slots.

The south-west has five heads of security agencies while north-central is third, with four appointees.

Three security chiefs are from the north-east, the table shows.

The south-south and south-east regions have the least number of people at the helm of the country’s security agencies, with one appointee each.