The All Progressive Congress (APC) women leaders from all states and the Federal Capital Territory have accused President Bola Tinubu of neglecting them following his victory in the 2023 general election.
During a solidarity visit to Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of the APC, the women expressed their dissatisfaction with their exclusion from the benefits of party politics.
The president of the group, Patricia Yakubu, voiced their grievances, stating that no women were considered for political appointments or rewards after their efforts to secure the president’s victory.
“Your Excellency, the women have not been compensated for all their pains and sacrifices; we are feeling neglected,” said Yakubu. She criticized the government for providing women only a single bag of rice and a wrapper each after the 2023 elections.
Yakubu further explained, “Since the elections, Your Excellency may note that only one bag of rice and a paper wrapper was given to the state women leaders from the party’s national secretariat. Nothing was given to us during Easter, the Ramadan fasting period, and the Sallah festivities.
Even the palliatives that were 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.”
She highlighted their closeness to the party women at the grassroots level, asserting that this demographic, which she claimed is the largest voting bloc in the secular world, should not be neglected.
She emphasized that women deserve political appointments due to their significant contributions during the elections, recalling various hardships they endured during the election period.
“Our women went through a lot at the last election,” Yakubu recounted. “We took great risks, 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.”
Yakubu also detailed specific incidents, such as the demolition of a member’s house by the opposition party, an accident involving another member, and the kidnapping of a woman’s son.
Despite their grievances, the forum’s leader praised the efforts of the APC chairman’s office and expressed confidence in his leadership.
However, she criticized the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, for distributing N50,000 in cash palliatives and excluding the women leaders from the arrangement.
“We also want to respectfully draw the attention of His Excellency, our Father, the advocate of women’s empowerment, to the fact that most federal government programmes related to women sound like news to us.
We plead with you to use your good office to discuss with the ministers and heads of agencies to involve our women in their programmes, especially in states where we don’t have APC governors,” she added.
