While some members who worked tirelessly to ensure the party’s victory in the 2023 general elections complain of neglect, highlighting the need for urgent reforms and a more equitable distribution of rewards within the party, others expressed hope in the leadership of the president.
InsideBusinessng gathered that, a Forum of Women Leaders across the 36 States of the country and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), recently accused the party leadership of not reckoning with them despite efforts put in the last elections.
The group through its President, Mrs. Patricia Yakubu, bemoaned that despite working hard for the electoral victory of Tinubu, they find it appalling that none of their people was found worthy to be compensated with appointment or post-election reward from the presidency.
“The state women leaders will want to advocate that we should be carried along in all the affairs about women in the states. We are closer to the party women at the grassroots, the largest voting bloc in the secular world. Our demography should not be neglected. Since after the elections, Your Excellency may note that only one bag of rice and one paper wrapper was given to the state women leaders from the national secretariat of the party.
“Nothing was given to us during Easter, the Ramadan fasting period, and Salah festivities. Even the palliatives distributed were not given to the women leaders for onward distribution to the grassroots, We party women waited and waited and waited to no avail very sad.
“Our women went through a lot at the last election. We took a great risk sleeping on the grass in open spaces at the Women Development Center in Abuja and almost every state during the electioneering period to ensure victory. The house of one of us was demolished on election day by the opposition party in her state to distract her from canvassing votes for the party.
“The son of a member was kidnapped a day before the presidential election. Another woman was detained at the police station for three days from the election day. One of us was involved in a ghastly motor accident during the campaign in her community and she is still in and out of the hospital. Your Excellency, the women have not been compensated for all their pains and sacrifices, we are feeling neglected.” The group lamented.
The Chairman of the Tinubu Media Support Group, Jesutega Onokpasa at a recent media Parley also expressed his frustration with the reward system, calling it “abysmal” and “disappointing.” He criticized the appointment of individuals who did not contribute to Tinubu’s victory and instead used their positions to undermine loyal party members. He further accused those close to the president of pursuing personal agendas with little or no regard for his interest.
Despite his criticisms, Onokpasa remained hopeful, emphasizing his belief in Tinubu’s leadership and divine guidance.
“It is our job to tell the president and the party the truth, the reward system has been abysmal, that’s just the truth and it has been disappointing to a lot of our party members. Even where you have people who lost their constituencies in key positions. You won an election for yourself, you lost the election for Asiwaju, the same day, you lost your state, you even lost your state to a woman, you lost primaries to a woman, God so kind, Asiwaju still gave you appointment, then you now use the instrumentality of office to start tormenting our party members.
“What I can tell you about my party, I’m so proud of my party. At the level of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), I saw the grace of God upon Asiwaju Tinubu, that the grace of God is upon him. Let’s not lose confidence in him. They blocked President Tinubu everywhere, even to have access to his own money it was difficult. We started supporting one another to deliver that election, some of us who even come from places where Obidients were dominant, people still voted for Asiwaju because of us.
“What do you want the party supporters to do, they should come and roll on the ground for you? Do you have a mandate? You are an appointee, your job is to win goodwill for our president. People should not come and lobby you or give you money or sleep with you before you write their names.
“Our President can’t know everybody, that’s the truth, so those close to him just have to have good intent for him. That’s how it works, but what we see is everybody is just after his own agenda, this one wants to be governor of this state, that one wants to be governor of this state, nobody is thinking of Asiwaju’s success but I know that the grace of God is upon my president, I know that and all these things, they will come to an end.
*Asiwaju will surprise everybody, that’s for sure, let us be patient with our president, yes, the reward system has been, let’s agree, it has been deplorable, even to the extent of insulting our president. You will recommend an Obidient to our President, the Obidient will have the gut to reject the appointment, insulting our president, then you will replace that nominee with another Obidient, we have party members. APC? we are too much, you can’t imagine how intelligent, how educated APC members are.
“Can Asiwaju know all our party members and start writing names? He has to depend on others and unfortunately, those he’s depending on, they have just been abysmal, terrible and shame on them. But Asiwaju I know the grace of God is upon him, he will solve this problem.
Also speaking with our correspondent, former National Vice-Chairman (South-West) of the APC, Mr. Kole Oluwajana, argued that it is too early to judge the president’s reward system.
Although he pointed out that many professionals within the party have not yet been acknowledged, he expressed optimism that Tinubu will do better with time.
Oluwajana also dismissed allegations of witch-hunting against former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello, affirming that the president is focused on governance and not personal vendettas.
“But let me also add this, we want the president to succeed. I’ve seen a lot of faces that I did not see at all during the election. Having said that, the need for the president to be successful is more important than that. So if he’s still confident enough that that’s what he wants to do to succeed, well, we’ll see how things go. But I will want to point the attention of the president to the fact that, there are many of us that are professionals, we have the same background as people that are saying they are professional.
“Even before we went into politics, many of us are professionals in various fields, very successful professionals but since we are into politics now, people only remember what we do now, forgetting what we were doing before. Perhaps the attention of Mr President needs to be brought to that, let’s still give him some time.
“I remember the former president, I can criticize that one very well because we actually at a time pointed it out to him, I mean Buhari, in one of our meetings, we pointed it out to him and the answer he gave us, we thought that he was ready to do something, the answer he gave us was that he will do something about it because he didn’t want his case to be like somebody whose vehicle was faulty, the vehicle stopped three times on the road, people pushed it for him and the moment the vehicle started, he drove off without looking back. And that was exactly what Buhari did, even our current president was a major pusher of Buhari’s vehicle and he never benefited from that government.
“But this president is far far more politically sensitive to do such a thing, I think it’s too early. We still have seven more years to go, three years for the first phase and then another four years for the second phase but at least we want him to attend to people in this first phase and I’m sure he’s going to do that.
Speaking on the perceived fallout of the president and the immediate former governors of Kaduna and Kogi, Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello, Oluwajana clarified that the president is not witch-hunting them but only giving the Anti-graft agency to operate independently as stated by the constitution.
“I don’t subscribe to that, many of us don’t know exactly what could have happened in the background. He nominated El-Rufai as minister and I’m not in a position to know exactly what happened, so we can’t say he was witch-hunting El-Rufai, far from it.
“And Bello, he has just left as governor, he couldn’t have made Bello anything, and EFCC is independent of the president to some extent, so if EFCC are getting some information pertaining certain things, by the time he’s able to prove himself innocent, I’m sure Mr President will find him suitable in one or two things to do for the country.
“So I don’t think he’s witch-hunting anyone, there are so many things around to be dealt with that he can’t be looking for his supporters to witch-hunt, there are many issues to be resolved. Why is it of special interest for him to witch-hunt anyone, for what purpose? El-Rufai stood with him and even Yahaya Bello also worked for him at least, much later. If he was witch-hunting Bello, Ododo wouldn’t have emerged as governor of Kogi State.” Oluwajana clarified.
Another APC loyalist, Comrade Sesugh Dishix Meekyaa echoed similar sentiments, acknowledging the dissatisfaction among party loyalists but urging patience.
“Honestly our reward system is not anything better as we have always anticipated, it’s not anything different from what we used to know, except there are few changes and maybe it’s too early but so far so good, I think majority of people that played great roles towards ensuring the party’s victory, even those in the campaign council are really not so pleased with what is going on, a lot of party loyalists.
“I’m sure it’s something that requires few times and I think he’s on the right track, he will make the needed changes because he’s of the street, he’s not someone that just came in like that, he knows who and who was there, so I’m believing God. “Another thing is, he’s not the only one running the government, he can’t do it alone but the thing is, he’s the leader and he’s in charge, we are just hoping that as time goes on, we’ll see all of that manifesting.
“Yesterday (Saturday), some appointments were rolled out, 555 appointments were made and at least there are few core party members on the list, so there was a kind of balance.
“So I’m hopeful and optimistic, I know he’s not the man that will neglect where he’s coming from, he’s of the street. So he knows what the problems are, he knows who and who were there for the party and that I am sure, you know in government you have different interests but you cannot do a lot of things all alone.
“I’ve not been giving an appointment and I’m not complaining because I believe it’s too early to do that, even if I don’t get it at the end of the day, I do know for a fact that it’s not everybody that will be appointed. He knows that people felt disenchanted because of what the former government or his predecessor did, how the reward system was, I think by and large, let’s keep believing.” Sesugh noted.
