By Jane osamor
In politics globally, individuals and communities often form cluster support groups to give political and electoral support to political parties and their candidates in the expectations that their interests will be met once electoral contests are over and their preferred candidate comes into office.
It was in this regard that the Arewa Community, Southern state in Nigeria led by the Chairman APC Arewa Community in lagos, who also doubles as the Chairman APC Arewa Community Southern Alhaji Sa’adu Gulma gathered together to impress on the National Leadership of the Ruling Party, APC and by inference President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to look their way and offer their group a consummate compensation to their members in return for the massive mobilization and electoral support they had always given to the APC and their candidates since 2015 and the last General Elections (2023) in particular.
We Are Not Asking For Too Much; Just Inclusiveness- Alhaji Sa’adu Gulma
Speaking to the media at the event, Alhaji Sa’adu Gulma said they were not asking for too much from the leadership of the APC to incorporate them into the upcoming plans of the party to compensate various Support Groups that worked for the victory of the Party and its Presidential candidate now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu .
We Are Only Asking For Our Due- Alhaji Habib Mohammed Faruq
Also Speaking Alhaji Habib Mohammed Faruq, Chairman Delta State Arewa Community and Coordinator Arewa Community South- south Zone disclosed that they have since been going round the States of the Southern states to canvass inclusion of their members in these states and the National Level to get their dues in return for their support for the party.
Speaking on the victory of the PDP and its Governorship Candidate at the Supreme Court, Alhaji Faruq disclosed that the heavy celebration the PDP went into shows how jittery they were because given their massive rigging during the election. But he gave the assurance that the APC is poised for victory come 2027 General Election.
We Funded Our Activities From Personal Resources- Hon Bashir Lukman Maiborno
Hon. Bashir Lukman Mai Borno, the Chairman Arewa Community Oyo State, who has also been a one time Councillor in Ibadan Municipality on his part echoed the submissions of his leader positing that the Southern Nigerian Arewa Community in the 17 Southern States deserves every recognition and inclusiveness in the present scheme of things based on the work they did to ensure the victory of the party. According to him, they had to practically fund the campaign activities of group from their private purses and resources in the last election with the huge support from Alhaji Aminu Sani Jaji who was the APC North- West Coordinator of the APC Presidential Campaign Council who gave each State a campaign vehicle and a little cash.
Regarding the victory of the PDP in the governorship elections in Oyo State, Alhaji Maiborno said it was a rare case study as the APC won 11 out of the State 14 House Members as well as the 3 Senatorial Seats. He revealed that as a close ally of the APC governorship candidate in the state, he knows the party was already cruising to victory before a last minute direction from the top that turned things around on the eve of the election.
Also present were all the 17 Southern state and their representatives at the Southern state national, theme unity in diversity conference held in lagos. A reflection of Arewa community of 17 Southern states in Nigeria project.
