Solomon Dalung, a former Minister of Youths and Sports has stated that Northerners are not angry with President Bola Tinubu over appointments into his government, but rather are angry with Tinubu due to the economic burden his policies and programs have placed on Nigerians.

NaijaTrendCompass reports that Dalung during an interview with Vanguard, stated that Tinubu government has weaponized poverty and insulted the sentiments of the poor by living large at the expense of ordinary Nigerians.

He said the economic policies of the current government and its disregard for the welfare of the people has created a distrust between the people of the North and President Tinubu.

He held that the major grievance is the impact of Tinubu’s economic policies, which have left Nigerians poorer.

“The president even won the election because Northerners supported the political arrangement called rotation of power or zoning between the North and South. So, the president was elected predominantly with the votes of the Northerners, over 5 million. They are dissatisfied with him because of his economic policies, which I earlier enumerated, withdrawal of fuel subsidies which have impoverished the poor, then weaponizing poverty and insulting the sentiments of the poor by living very large and lavishing money on his family members and government, while the poor continue to languish in penury.

“So, these are the factors that are creating distrust between President Tinubu and the people of the North. It is not even about appointments – because the Muslim North, even if it is about appointments, has no reason to oppose him, because 90% of those he appoints in the North are from the Muslim North – but because he has declared war against the poor, and all his appointees cannot make any impact, neither can they convince anybody to trust him again. So, that is the issue. It is not the issue of whether he is from the South or not,” Dalung submitted.