The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State, has protested the exclusion of the party and its women in the arrangements of the expected visit of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu to the state on Thursday.
Though the party leadership congratulated and welcomed the First Lady to the state, they added that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is deceiving President Bola Tinubu on the expectation that progressives were working together, when in real sense they (APC) in Anambra were being alienated from national activities.
This is coming as joint security agencies have commenced profiling of all routes to be travelled by the First Lady, including security mappings.
In a statement issued on Monday in Awka, Anambra State and signed by the state Secretary of APC, Sir Obi Okpala and made available to journalists, APC said the party only knew about the visit and it’s arrangements through the announcement by the office of the first lady of Anambra state, Dr Nonye Soludo.
The statement read: “The Anambra State APC warmly welcomes Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON, to our dear state and appreciates her unwavering commitment to the empowerment, welfare and economic advancement of Nigerian women, particularly her initiative to empower thousands of women across the Southeast.
“However, the Anambra State APC is constrained to express its concern and disappointment that, as of the time of issuing this statement, the leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Anambra State, including its women leadership and recognised party structures, have neither been formally invited nor meaningfully carried along in the arrangements for this important visit.
“As the leading political party at the national level and a major political stakeholder in Anambra State, we believe that an official visit by the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly one centred on the empowerment of women, should transcend partisan considerations and provide an opportunity for broad participation, consultation and inclusion.
“It is therefore difficult for us to reconcile the apparent exclusion of the APC and its women structures with the repeated public narrative of “Progressives Are Working Together”
“The Rhetorics of Progressives Working Together is only intended for the National Television shows as APGA as a party is not marketing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his achievements in the state but using it to hoodwink APC leadership and also to confuse the gullible public into voting APGA candidates in the National and State Assembly Elections.
“We believe that this should not be interpreted as an attempt to politicise your humanitarian and empowerment programme, but rather as an appeal for greater inclusion and recognition of all relevant stakeholders in the spirit of national unity.
“The APC has been structured and strengthened to deliver Mr President in Anambra State, we totally reject the rhetoric of Progressives are working together because is not tenable anywhere rather they are confusing Mr President with the 25 percent narrative which they know they are not capable of producing considering their background, because all their media communications are demarketing Mr President and APC,” the party wrote.
Meanwhile the Anambra State Police Command, in synergy with other security and safety agencies, have commenced profiling of routes to be traveled by wife of the President of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
A press release by the state police command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga stated that: “This is the first phase of a comprehensive security and safety assessment across strategic locations in the state ahead of the planned visit of high-profile dignitaries to Anambra.
“The exercise is part of the command’s proactive, intelligence-led security strategy to identify potential vulnerabilities, validate existing security arrangements and reinforce operational readiness around designated venues, major access routes, critical infrastructure and other strategic locations.
“The assessment focuses on threat identification, intelligence coordination, access and movement control, strategic deployment, traffic management, emergency response capability and protection of lives and property.
“It is being conducted through enhanced inter-agency coordination to ensure a seamless and unified security architecture before, during and after the visit,” the release read.
David-Chyddy Eleke
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