By Tony Okafor, Awka
A group, under the platform of South-East APC Young Progressives Forum, has begged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to consider giving Anambra State a minister and other appointees who are grassroots politicians.
It said such appointees should have the capacity to mobilize and galvanize the people of the area to win elections in the state.
The group stated this at a press conference by the convener, Pascal Candle, and others in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Thursday.
Stating that Anambra State would have a governorship election in 2025, the group enjoined the president not to make the mistakes of the past where political appointees would just settle in Abuja or Lagos without minding how APC was faring in Anambra State.
The group’s statement read in part, “Once again, let us, the Leadership and Members of South East APC Young Progressives Forum, extend our hearty congratulations to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his inauguration as the 16th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“As committed Members of the APC over the years, we have great confidence in the ability and capacity of Mr President, President Asiwaju Tinubu to unite the country into a vibrant nation. A nation that will effectively pursue an inclusive development agenda to tackle the problems of insecurity and poverty in our dear nation, Nigeria.
“We trust your visionary and inspirational leadership in the quest to rapidly and positively reposition our country on a new development trajectory that will ensure Nigeria remains the leading country in Africa and prioritizes the well-being of its people. Your Excellency, please be assured of our support from South East.
“The essence of this press conference is to passionately plead with Mr President as a thorough Party man to ensure that only core party members with sound profile, impeccable Integrity and character in Anambra State and South East are appointed as Ministers, Special Advisers, Chairman and Members of various Boards to help build a vibrant Party with Mass Followership in the States across the South East.
“While we understand that the buck stops at the President’s table and the choice of a Minister is solely his prerogative. We are urging President Bola Tinubu and his kitchen cabinet to ensure that the next minister or set of ministers are from the category of true party members and not a “Johnny Just Drop” and those who cannot claim to be of Anambra APC stock with mouth.
“It is on record that one of the challenges of the the party in Anambra State and South East is the harrowing non-reward system for party members who have slaved and toiled and always being bypassed for expired leaders, people without any electoral value or those who are only APC Members in Abuja by lip Services, but who never identified with the party in their States.
“We may have understood such an absurdity owing to the Former President Buhari’s disposition to party politics but how can such, attempt to rear its ugly head again under the watch of a core party man such as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The stones will surely cry out!
“Like an odd number amongst even numbers, and like a consonant amidst a category of vowels we were thrown into a rude shock as to how persons who never identified with APC in Anambra State, who never contributed both material nor financial assistance to the Party and who have worked against the party interest in the past will be lobbying to be Minister or get aboard appointments, just because they are friends to Mr President’s son or those close to Mr President.
“At no point in time, in the party’s struggles to elect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a feat which saw true party members resist all forms of inducements, threats to their lives and what have we, and in an election where ethnicity and tribalism featured heavily, many of these People parading themselves for Appointments did not feature in the party’s attempts to hold the APC Fort in Anambra.
“We have also watched with keen interest how some persons like one Emmanuel Nwosu, a self-acclaimed and self appointed ICT Director with a defunct Association, who cannot boast of any impact for the Party, who never identified with APC in Anambra State or seen anywhere near activities of Anambra APC, have taken to Television Stations to run down respected Party Men and women in Anambra APC. These people are meddlesome interlopers in Anambra APC. They are unknown to us.
“We are hereby calling on the leadership of the party in Anambra State as well as the Zonal and National levels to also intervene and ensure that the right things are done. We need true and thorough Party men to help galvanise the party for Electoral victory, for any party that does not win election is like a social club and we do want that to be the case of Anambra APC anymore.
Our Prayers:
1. We pray that Ministerial Appointment should be given to real party members who can be accessible to the people, who were on ground during campaigns supporting the party, people with the requisite think home philosophy not those who will take the appointment and close the doors against Ndi APC Anambra.
2. We need a minister that can unite the party, a minister and board Members that will improve the fortunes of APC in Anambra, a minister that can help us win Gubernatorial election; a minister that will galvanize the grassroots for the party, a minister that will be collaborating with Anambra APC Executives to build a vibrant Party at all levels.
3. We pray that Mr President will not give us an unpopular and unacceptable Ministerial candidate. This will not argur well for the party in Anambra State. Those Self-appointed APC Members in Abuja and Lagos, who are not proud to identify with APC in their Wards, Local Government and State will not be accepted by us.
4. That Mr President should as a matter Party interest demand from These lobbyist their Polling Unit and Ward Results. You cannot be claiming to be a member of a party or want something from the party which you cannot boldly identify with.
We in positive anticipation are of the beleief that such a call would be heeded and Anambra APC would be represented by genuine party members who have long waited for the Uhuru moment in our party!
