“We’ve been used & dumped” – APC 2023 women campaign council members tell Tinubu

Members of the now-defunct All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Campaign Council have expressed their frustration and disappointment with President Bola Tinubu over what they describe as a glaring lack of appointments for women in key government positions.

The women, who played a critical role in mobilizing support for the APC during the 2023 election campaigns, feel abandoned by the President following his election.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the group’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Ofuani Otunbalogun, did not hold back in her criticism.

She accused President Tinubu of failing to honour his campaign promises regarding gender inclusivity, leaving the women who worked tirelessly for his success feeling “ used and dumped.”

Otunbalogun pointed out that during his campaign, President Tinubu had pledged to increase women’s participation in governance to at least 35%, as outlined in the National Gender Policy of 2006. However, the reality has fallen far short of this promise.

According to Otunbalogun, women have been grossly underrepresented in the President’s appointments so far.

“Our research shows that in 2023, only 12% of the appointments made by the President were women. In 2024, the figure remains dismal, with just 12 out of 99 appointments being women,” she stated.

She further criticized the President for not fulfilling his campaign pledge to reward those who delivered results at their polling units, particularly the women’s wing of the party, which she said has been neglected.

The members of the APC Women Campaign Council called on President Tinubu to address the imbalance in his appointments and to ensure that women are given the roles they were promised.

Otunbalogun urged the President to make up the deficit in women’s appointments, stressing the importance of gender inclusivity in governance.

“This is crucial for correcting the anomaly and ensuring women’s participation in governance,” Otunbalogun emphasized.

Adesotu Vera, another member of the group, also voiced her concerns, calling on the President to remember the contributions of women who have been loyal to the party.

She emphasized the need for the 35% affirmative action to be implemented and urged the President to recognize the women who campaigned tirelessly for the APC.

“We are pleading with the President to consider our plight. Thirty-five percent affirmative action should be implemented,” Vera said.

“We are not looking at any position in particular. Mr. President knows the best qualifications for women. A lot of women worked for the party over the years during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari,” she added.

Vera further stressed that many of these women are highly educated and capable of taking on leadership roles within the government.

“Those women should be located, found, and they should be brought on board. They have all it takes. We want to be board members too. He should fix women into positions of authority for them to empower themselves,” she concluded.