Members of the Tinubu/Shettima Independent Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress, Bayelsa State chapter, have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to reward them with appointive federal positions for their hard work.
They said they deserved to be favourably considered for appointments, having worked hard to deliver votes for the electoral victory of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima at the February 25 presidential polls in the state.
A chieftain of the APC and ICC Director of Administration in the state, Pastor Joseph Fafi, who stated this at a press briefing in Yenagoa, said they “worry at the actions of some highly placed individuals both within and outside the state in recommending persons who contributed next to nothing for appointments.”
Fafi noted that the group under the leadership of the state chapter’s coordinator, Preye Aganaba, “painstakingly set up the required structure up to the (polling) units and worked assiduously to produce the result we had.”
Reading a text titled, ‘We delivered the votes in Bayelsa State’, the APC chieftain urged the president to avoid the mistakes made in the past by others who gave appointive positions to complete strangers instead of party members that toiled for the party’s success.
He said, “While we acknowledge the immense contributions of some individuals especially in Ogbia and Nembe Local Government Areas of the state, and even in those areas, the ICC played a major role in achieving those victories. There is no doubt that the ICC was the most visible campaign outfit reaching down to the grassroots in the state.
“There are those whose sense of entitlement is only based on friendship to those at the corridors of power and not on effective participation. We have seen in the past few days, persons and groups (and) even those who sat in their air-conditioned offices throughout the campaign period making unsubstantiated claims.
“This action is taken in other to avoid the mistakes of the past, where people who are complete strangers to the party are appointed into offices and immediately turn their backs on the party.
“It’s the party members that suffer at the end of the day. People delivered, that’s why we are here. Let them show their unit and ward results. For the avoidance of doubt, the activities of ICC in Bayelsa State are there on the internet for all to see.
“Those we campaigned to in creeks and villages are eagerly waiting for the fulfilment of promises that were made. We are therefore appealing to Mr. President to give priority to members of ICC in Bayelsa State in the ongoing recruitment process.”
Fafi, however, expressed the ICC members’ unflinching support and loyalty to the Tinubu administration and their confidence in the president’s “ability to always do what is right without fear or favour can never be in doubt.”
