Members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress have been debating the reward system of the party following a statement made by former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that Fashola had, during the APC’s Stakeholders Forum meeting in Lagos recently, questioned the party’s reward system.
Fashola, who raised the question while noting a decline in the number of votes accrued to the APC, wondered if the party’s policies still resonate with its traditional base.
The former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, wondered if the party has a well-documented register for members that can be engaged, which could help stimulate votes.
According to Fashola, “Our closest opposition back then used to have about one-third of the total votes that we got. That was what it used to look like.
“And so what has happened? Why have the votes dropped? And I think that is the heart of the matter. There are a lot of numbers here, but I don’t want to go into interrogating all of those numbers.
“Where are our traditional voters? Are they still with us? Are they turning out for us? And why are they not turning out enough?
“This is a time for honest answers and for honest questions, and I hope those questions will be asked, as I said, after this meeting by people who are resolved to ensure that we turn out voters for the next election.
“Some of the questions to ask are, whether our policies and programs are still resonating with our traditional base.
“What is our own party reward system like? How do we even network with ourselves?
“I have asked questions such as, if we wanted to undertake a particular program that involved a certain set of tradesmen or tradeswomen, do we have a register that we can consult to say who the party members are who will be interested in this?
Following Fashola’s remarks, the APC members took to X formerly Twitter to lend their voice to the debate with many of them supporting the former governor’s position.
The APC members also called out some of the chieftains of the party, including the party’s national leader, Chief Bisi Akande.
According to the APC members, Akande’s daughter, Dr. Temitope Ilori who is the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), got her position without working for the party.
The members noted that Dr. Ilori, who is a former Commissioner for Health in Osun State, was riding on her father’s goodwill.
Joining the conversation, an APC member, Sulaiman Gafar, said former governor Gboyega Oyetola lost his re-election bid because people like Dr. Ilori failed to mobilise for the party.
He wrote, “Oyetola lost his election for many reasons. One of them is that people like Baba Akande secured an appointment for his daughter, who failed to mobilize for the party in Ila in 2018, and for his son in 2019, who also failed the party in 2022 for the same reason.”
But responding to the critics, Dr. Ilori, claimed that she has been involved in APC politics.
Dr. Ilori in a X post, said her dedication to APC runs deep, adding that it is “both family legacy and personal conviction.”
She wrote, “I’ve seen a few comments suggesting I wasn’t active during APC campaigns.
“Truth is, this account was only created last year, but I was and continue to be involved right from my ward to LGA and state levels.
“My dedication to our great party runs deep; it’s both family legacy and personal conviction.”
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
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