Daniel Otera
Since assuming office in May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has had at least seven major public institutions and landmarks across Nigeria named after him, spanning an international airport, highways, a military barracks, a polytechnic, a government complex, and the Federal Capital’s flagship conference centre.
The scope, pace, and pattern of these renamings have drawn public scrutiny, with critics suggesting it reflects more of a personal branding campaign than a legacy of public service.
The latest addition came in early June 2025, when the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, renamed the Abuja International Conference Centre– key national venue for diplomatic and state functions– as the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre.
The move followed months of refurbishment funded from the FCT’s ₦1.81 trillion 2025 budget. Though the project was presented as a landmark upgrade, Wike used the inauguration to justify naming the centre after the President, calling it a tribute to Tinubu’s leadership and vision.
This follows an earlier renaming of Southern Parkway (S8/S9), a central arterial road in Abuja, to Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way during the president’s first anniversary in office on May 28, 2024. On the same day, the National Assembly Library Complex was also rebranded as the Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu Complex, an event witnessed by top government officials and parliamentary leaders.
In March 2024, the Abubakar Imam International Airport in Minna, Niger State, was renamed the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport by Governor Umar Bago. The renaming came alongside state-led refurbishments and was presented as a tribute to Tinubu’s “support for state infrastructural development.”
In the security sector, the Asokoro Military Cantonment in Abuja commissioned in January 2025 was christened Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks. The move raises fresh concerns over the abandonment of military protocols established in 2003, which discouraged naming active defence institutions after sitting political figures. In that year, a Defence Ministry panel set up under then-Minister Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma recommended a complete reversal of previous practices, stating that military installations should be named strictly after battles, geographic locations, or deceased officers of distinguished service. The committee chaired by Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson explicitly advised against naming military infrastructure after living political leaders to protect institutional neutrality and historical integrity.
As part of the policy’s implementation, several barracks previously named after former heads of state such as Generals Abacha, Babangida, and Gowon were reverted to neutral names like Mogadishu Barracks, Niger Barracks, and Mambilla Barracks. The recent naming of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks in Asokoro, Abuja, therefore, marks a notable departure from this precedent, raising questions about the politicisation of military spaces.
Meanwhile, in the education sector, the Federal Government announced in January 2025 the establishment of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Federal Polytechnic, Gwarinpa, Abuja. The school is yet to commence academic activities but has received allocation under the Ministry of Education’s 2025 budget.
Additionally, the Nigeria Immigration Service’s new tech innovation hub, unveiled in December 2024, now bears the name Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC).
In total, seven federal assets across Abuja and several states have been renamed in honour of President Tinubu all within his first two years in office.
The surge in namings stands out for its scale and speed. While past Nigerian leaders have also had public structures renamed after them often posthumously or long after leaving office, Tinubu’s case appears unique in both tempo and official endorsement.
During President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, the Abuja National Stadium was renamed after Moshood Abiola in 2019 marking a rare instance of a civilian honoured posthumously for democratic struggle. Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan also oversaw similar gestures, but largely in honour of foreign dignitaries or national icons.
However, Tinubu’s name now adorns more new or rebranded public infrastructure than any living president within such a short span, raising concerns over precedent and the politicisation of state-owned assets.
The official justifications vary from recognising “visionary leadership” to honouring “national builders.” But critics argue the underlying motive is to cement political relevance through architecture, a form of symbolic control over public memory.
Public advocacy groups have raised red flags over the renaming trend. In a January 2025 statement, the Network for Good Governance and Democratic Accountability (NEFGAD) condemned what it called the “excessive personalisation of public institutions” under the Tinubu administration.
The group described the naming of federal assets after a sitting president as “extreme sycophancy, unethical, and questionable,” warning that such actions could “create the appearance of bias” and undermine the principles of merit and accountability.
NEFGAD’s Country Head, Akingunola Omoniyi, urged the federal government to reverse the naming decisions and proposed the establishment of a nonpartisan national honours board to regulate such recognitions in future.
“Approaching a sitting president for gestures that confer monumental benefits on him while still in active service is purely wrong,” the group said in a statement published by TheCable on January 23, 2025.
“History must name, not incumbents,” the statement read.
The speed of renaming has also prompted concerns over accountability. No public consultations were held before the rebranding of the National Assembly complex or the airport in Minna. Additionally, no clear policy was presented to justify naming a major military barracks after a sitting Commander-in-Chief, a move that some analysts warn could weaken civil-military neutrality.
Public records show that the majority of monuments and institutions renamed after President Tinubu since 2023 are located in Abuja far from his political base in Lagos suggesting a deliberate effort to shape his symbolic legacy in the nation’s capital.
However, despite the visibility of these newly renamed landmarks, Abuja continues to lag behind Lagos in hospitality infrastructure, investor traffic, and event tourism.
According to the 2023 Nigeria Hotel Market Report by Aninver Development Partners, over 60 percent of major conferences and international expos in Nigeria are still hosted in Lagos, driven by its superior air connectivity, broader range of luxury hotel brands, and deeper private sector involvement.
The report notes that while Abuja plays a vital role in government and diplomatic hosting, Lagos remains Nigeria’s primary hub for business travel, conference tourism, and hospitality development.
Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport recorded over 8 million passenger movements in 2023, compared to less than half of that at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, highlighting the commercial dominance of Nigeria’s southwest corridor.
The renaming of the International Conference Centre while cosmetically impressive has not yet reversed Abuja’s reputation as a ceremonial capital with limited commercial dynamism. Supporters of President Tinubu argue that naming public infrastructure after sitting leaders is not without precedent and should be seen as part of a broader effort to build national identity and continuity.
In the ruling party’s policy outlook, such symbolic gestures are presented as tributes to leadership and nation-building. During a 2023 tribute to former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, whom Tinubu described as the “Father of national infrastructure and unity,” the president himself acknowledged the importance of immortalising leaders whose influence shapes the national landscape. APC’s manifesto has also repeatedly emphasised the need for visible, lasting symbols of “visionary leadership.”
However, civil society groups and transparency advocates argue that the growing trend of naming federal assets after President Tinubu, especially within his first two years in office risks reducing national infrastructure into platforms for political branding. In a public statement, the Network for Good Governance and Democratic Accountability (NEFGAD) described the renaming of public institutions after a sitting president as “extreme sycophancy” and warned it could set a dangerous precedent.
Similarly, Seun Onigbinde, co-founder of BudgIT, criticised what he called Nigeria’s “sycophantic culture,” stating that such gestures divert attention from the need for measurable policy outcomes and structural reform.
Other organisations, including CHRICED and CISLAC/TI-Nigeria, have echoed this sentiment. They warn that excessive political naming may compromise historical continuity, politicise public resources, and foster a culture of impunity.
Despite Abuja’s landmark rehabilitation projects under Tinubu, critics argue that the emphasis on ceremonial renaming contrasts sharply with the reality of widespread infrastructural decay, urban poverty, and weak public services across the country.