Abia South Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has accused President Bola Tinubu of showing the Southeast “renewed shege.”
Abaribe faulted the cabinet reshuffling, which saw the appointment of Bianca Ojukwu as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Tinubu had removed five ministers while appointing seven and reassigning 10 to new portfolios.
Notably, Uju-Ken Ohanenye, the former Minister of Women’s Affairs, was relieved of her duties, and Bianca Ojukwu stepped in as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs so there’s nothing to celebrate there, Abaribe said relieving a Southeast Minister and replacing with another “doesn’t feel like progress.”
“For my constituents, nothing has changed,” Abaribe told Arise TV.
“They don’t refer to it as ‘Renewed Hope’ but rather as ‘Renewed Shege,’” he remarked, voicing dissatisfaction over what he perceives as a lack of advancement for the Southeast region.
Abaribe criticised Tinubu for allegedly breaching the Federal character principle, a constitutional mandate requiring fair representation across Nigeria’s regions.
According to Abaribe, this reshuffle failed to address Southeast’s concerns of equity and inclusivity.
“The president has breached it for the last 18 months,” he said. “We thought these changes would ease the concerns of people from the South East.”
Expressing Southeast frustration, he asserted that the region’s desire for “fairness and equity” remains unmet in the constitution.
Abaribe insisted, “Treat us as you are treating everybody else,” lamenting that recent appointments appeared only to sustain, not remedy, the status quo.
The senator’s criticism highlights ongoing regional discontent, with calls for improved federal representation and a more inclusive approach.
