APC Using Regional Divide to Cover-up Governance Failure, Says Olawepo-Hashim

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna

A chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of deliberately fuelling regional tensions to divert public attention from worsening economic hardship and governance failures under President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement by his media office, Olawepo-Hashim said recent comments credited to senior federal government officials suggested a calculated attempt to reopen old North–South fault lines, warning that such rhetoric can further undermine national cohesion.

He specifically faulted a statement attributed to Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and warned that it trivialised pressing governance challenges and posed serious risks to national stability.

Gbajabiamila had on January 24 in Abuja, at a summit organised by National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), said personal aspiration and transient political gains should not be allowed to endanger North-South rotational presidency.

But Olawepo-Hashim described the statement as “pedestrian and reckless”. He said it was an attempt to shift public discourse away from economic realities.

“Dividing Nigeria along regional lines to escape accountability for governance failure is shameful and dangerous. It is a direct betrayal of the oath to defend the unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

The PDP chieftain stated that debates around rotational presidency had lost relevance amid widespread economic distress and insecurity, adding that Nigerians are more concerned about competence, capacity, and vision than the geographical origin of a president.

Olawepo-Hashim stated, “Nigerians are not asking for a northern or southern president. They are asking for a competent president, who can revive the economy, secure lives and property, and unite the country around a shared future of prosperity.”