Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Professionals Forum have threatened to leave the party following the decision to sideline them in appointive positions.
National coordinator of the forum, Akeem Akintayo, at a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, lamented that members who toiled for the party were not rewarded after election victories.
Akintayo who described politics as a game of interest appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to further enhance party loyalty and structures by empowering the party’s National Caretaker Committee to nominate those who participated actively to install his government into boards of government agencies and parastatals.
“Issues of lack of reward system still lingers on in the party. In the recent past, mostly big names have been rewarded who may not necessarily believe in the founding principles and ideology of our party, leaving the grassroots support base with professionals and intellectuals mostly unrewarded.
“We are unwavering in our repeated call on the President to give greater attention to the grassroots supporters by rewarding them with board’s appointments.
“Elections are won by the number of motivated grassroots support base, the continued feeling of neglect by majority of those who feel sidelined despite their sacrifices for the party including members of the APC Professional Forum is for us a red flag for the party as we move into the politics of 2023.
“Like Oliver Twist we find it more urgent to call on the President to improve on reward system as a way of strengthening the party. We also find the discordant tunes between some members of the executives and legislators as an embarrassment.
“Although we appreciate the President’s commitments to give teeth to his words “I am for no one, I am for everyone,” we wish to call on the President not to fail to reward those who made enormous sacrifices to campaign and vote for him as party men and women.
“Rewarding these men through an immediate release of board appointments to reward loyal party men and women will go a long way to enhance the reconciliation drive by the National Caretaker Committee and strengthen the party beyond 2023,” he said.
