Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, openly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, August 11.
Lawal revealed he would have found it difficult to serve in Tinubu’s cabinet, adding, “I thank God that I didn’t make the mistake of being in this government ab initio. If I were in this government, I probably would have been sacked a long time ago, killed or resigned.”
Despite his criticisms, he admitted feeling comfortable with Tinubu’s governance style but accused the administration of favouring Yoruba people, describing the government as nepotistic.
“I cannot go to a meeting in which 99 per cent of the participants are Yoruba. The tendency is that they finish the meeting in their language, and I am just sitting there.”
He recalled the tense atmosphere during the campaign, saying, “When we were doing the campaign, after he went to Ogun and said ‘emi lokan,’ there was a Bola Tinubu platform in which I was participating.
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“They started insulting us, saying that northerners are illiterate. So I wrote on that platform that these are the people whose votes we would need.”
Lawal added, “The problem with the Yoruba is that when you support them and they win, they behave as if they have subdued you. They will not count your support.”
On economic matters, the former APC member criticised the administration’s handling of inflation and fuel subsidy removal, which took place in May 2023.
He lamented that Nigerians had yet to feel any benefit from the subsidy’s removal and accused the government of continuing to pay subsidy despite official claims to the contrary.
Lawal also weighed in on the controversial 2023 presidential election, asserting that the poll was rigged in favour of the APC. When asked who truly won, he said plainly, “Peter Obi won that election.”