* Warns APC not to truncate 2027 chances
By Mathew Dadiya
Barely four months into the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a group under the auspices of Progressive Young Leaders Assembly (PYLS) has protested what it described as lope sided appointments into political offices at the federal level.
Chairman of the group,
Abubakar Kurawa who spoke alongside the Secretary, Bar Sadiq Abubakar, said it has been watching closely, developments that came with post-elections reward system of the All Progressives Congress (APC) hence the need to address the avoidable gaps and flaws that punctuated the process of appointments, especially at ministerial and other Federal Government levels.
He said they feel deeply concerned that the ruling party seems to have derailed in the choice of appointment of prominent Nigerian politicians, particularly those who gave their time, physical energy and hard-earned resources to support the victory of the just concluded 2023 elections.
According to Kurawa, the APC youth group are disturbed that a considerable number of the people that the APC rewarded with ministerial slots, for example, could not match the resilience, sacrifice of energy and resources of other members that are yet to get even a simple letter of commendation for their effort.
Kurawa, who addressed journalists in Abuja on Thursday along with his Secretary, Barr.
Sadiq Abubakar, said they find it hard to fathom why there is still a silence on Senator Ovie Omo Agege, former Deputy Senate President who also contested on the platform of the APC but lost out in the 2023 polls.
“He has not yet been considered for any reward via an appointment by the Federal Government.
“Politicians like this respected Senator could not get ministerial or other appointments into the Federal Government of President Bola Tinubu. This is anything but democratic injustice.
“It is worrisome that Sen. Aishatu Binani who is widely believed to have won her immediate constituency of Adamawa quiet significantly but had her mandate somehow overturned.
“Imagine that she was the only female governorship candidate in the race but nothing for yet. This is despite the fact that an average Nigerian believe that Sen. Aishatu Binani has a lot of value to add to the functions of this Administration, based on her track records.
“We wonder why notable politician like Anambra’s Andy Uba, an astute politician of excellent pedigree and a renown business tycoon, is still hanging in the balance of ongoing appointments by the Presidency. The man was known to have committed a large chunk of his resources for the victory of the APC in the 2023 General Elections in the South East and the country at large.
“Our group therefore, insists that prominent Nigerians, especially members of the ruling party who demonstrated their love and loyalty for the party by committing hundreds of millions( if not billions), deserve priority attention.
“On the list of politicians who gave the APC participation in 2023 polls their best shot was Abdussalam Abdulkarim Zaura (popularly known as AA Zaura).
“Zaura did a lot in assisting the needy and vulnerable people in Kano before and during the electioneering campaigns, and this helped in no small way for the people of Kano Central senatorial district to come out in their numbers and voted for President Tinubu as evidenced in the outcome of the election where 60% of President Tinubu’s Kano vote came from Kano Central.
The group said that some illustrious and prominent Nigerians who gave their all, but ended up not being rewarded till date.
“We have offered our voluntary advice, hoping the APC and President Bola Tinubu will avoid a mistake that would hunt the party down in 2027 and beyond. A word, as they say, is enough for the wise. Whoever has the President’s or party’s ear should forward our gentle warning/reminder,” the group noted in its protest message on Thursday.”
