3 months ago
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A group of female protesters stormed the headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Friday, demanding the resignation of the National Women Leader, Dr. Mary Alile-Idele.
The protesters accused Alile-Idele of negligence, pursuing personal interests, and diverting a portion of the 24,000 wrappers donated by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu and her delegation during their visit to the party secretariat.
Naija News understands that the aggrieved women sang solidarity songs and displayed banners with messages such as ‘Enough is Enough!’, ‘Mary Alile Resign Now’, and ‘APC Women Leader Must Go’.
They appealed to the First Lady and the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, to remove Alile-Idele for consistently undermining female members of the party.
Recall that Alile-Idele assumed the position of national women leader after her predecessor, Dr Betta Edu, was appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation by President Bola Tinubu.
The call for Alile-Idele’s removal gained momentum after the First Lady’s representative, Hajia Nana, presented bales of wrappers to Alile and her state women leaders in response to their previous outcry that the president abandoned them despite their contributions to his election victory.
The protesters, led by Rebecca Sheneni, the Coordinator of Concerned APC Women, alleged that only 9,000 out of the 24,000 fabrics were distributed, suggesting that Ganduje had foreseen the situation.
The North Central APC member further claimed that instead of working together towards a shared goal for their own advantage, the national women leader has been extensively travelling across the nation to advocate for a personal project within her non-governmental organization.
She said, “We, the Concerned APC Women Group, an umbrella body for all female members of the governing APC, deem it necessary and imperative to demand the immediate resignation of Mrs Mary Alile-Idele, the National Women Leader of our party.
“We are concerned that since assuming office, Mrs Mary Alile-Idele has displayed incompetence in her role. She appears to be more focused on promoting her Non-Governmental Organisation rather than the party. This is evident in her recent travels to various states to inaugurate her NGO’s executives, instead of promoting the agenda and manifesto of our party to Nigerian women.
“Furthermore, Her Excellency the First Lady provided her with over 24,000 wrappers to distribute to Women leaders and party members, but she only distributed less than 9,000. Where are the rest? We wonder how a UK-based person with no political experience and no record of membership in our party could be considered for this exalted position.
“She prioritises her personal interests over those of the APC, leading to the nomination of her husband for appointment as a member of the University of Port Harcourt Governing Council and various party assignments.
“Considering her numerous misdeeds and misconduct, we call for her immediate removal from the position of the APC. She has demonstrated a high level of incompetence and we have had enough.”
Naija News understands that the APC national women leader has yet to comment on the allegations as of the time this report was filed.
On the other hand, the women leader for Imo State, Patricia Okuebor-Benson, came forward to support her, stating that the accusations were unfounded.
She mentioned that almost all members in different states have already received their fabrics.
“I am just hearing of this now because nobody told me before. As I speak, the 36 state women leaders and the FCT are in Abuja having a meeting and nobody has accused anybody of anything.
“We don’t know where these women are getting their stories from. I believe every state has received its fabrics. I really don’t know what they are talking about. I think somebody is sponsoring them.
“When contacted, a former lawmaker and women leader in Lagos, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, declined comment, saying she wasn’t aware of the development and couldn’t speak for any of her principals.
“As you can see, I am not in Abuja. I am in Lagos because there is a very important programme that I have to attend. So there is nothing I can say about it,” The PUNCH quoted her pleading.
