President Bola Tinubu has appointed Muhammad Babangida, the son of former Head of State Ibrahim Babangida, as the chairman of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).

Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Friday, stated that seven others would serve as chairmen and directors-general of some other federal agencies.

Mr Babangida, who graduated from the European University in Montreux, Switzerland, and later from Harvard Business School, will head the agricultural and financial institution.

Other appointments include Lydia Kalat Musa as chairman, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA); Jamilu Wada Aliyu as chairman, National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC); Yahuza Ado Inuwa as chairman, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and Sanusi Musa as chairman of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolutions (IPCR).

Also, Al-Mustapha Alhaji Aliyu will serve as director-general of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA); Sanusi Garba Rikiji will serve as the director-general of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN); Tomi Somefun will serve as the managing director of the National Hydro-Electric Power Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), and Abdulmumini Mohammed Aminu-Zaria (Kaduna State) is now the executive director of the Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Management Commission (NIWRMC).

Mr Tinubu’s appointment of the younger Babangida and other northerners followed his dramatic homage at the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari, suggesting moves to woo supporters from the Northern region as the 2027 election draws close.

Earlier on Friday, the president was also on a condolence visit to Kano State to mourn the death of the prominent industrialist Aminu Dantata.

Mr Tinubu’s step came amid the growing popularity of the new coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the region.

Aside from the befitting state burial given to Mr Buhari, Mr Tinubu’s recent decision seemed a strategy to gain popularity in the north by pushing more appointments to the region, following criticism that he had allocated juicy political positions to Southerners, especially those from Lagos.

Given the hardship trailing Mr Tinubu’s subsidy removal and other policies, the reality of the president’s re-election for a second term, however, continues to be against him as his popularity diminishes across the country.

Political pundits also argued that the only region the president is confident of winning, if an election were held today, is the South-West region, which he hails from.