By Sunny Onyewonsa

It’s high time President Bola Tinubu rejigged his reward system to reflect the hard work that was put into his campaign by the members and candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in all the states of the federation. The president should meaningfully engage those who sponsored and supported the presidential campaign by a way of their participation in the process and letting it down.

When in the autumn of 2022, Dr. Sylvester Onoyona, threw his hat in the political ring, he came out brimming with hope and aspiration under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress, APC with an onerous desire to fly the Progressives flag in Isoko, Delta State South-South Nigeria.

Preceding his declaration were moments of decision making, the political heavyweights of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stock in his home State came in their large numbers, stormed him in vainful attempts at wooing the real estate mogul to their fold with mouth-watering offer.

Knowing his desire apart from his political intention to fly the party’s ticket at the Senatorial level he had in mind also to build a platform through which he could lend his weight behind the Presidential Campaign of the then APC candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr Onoyona didn’t mince words rebuffing the party he said had held Delta State spell bound in abject poverty and retrogression.

According to him, the PDP is an enemy of human growth and accelerated development saying that is what the party had demonstrated over the years across tiers of governance warning his followers never to have anything doing with the umbrella party.

He trudged on and waxed stronger in the Delta South Senatorial district gathering crowd wherever he stepped with massive acceptance by the people, including the traditional institution.

The doctor of organisational leadership and real estate developer travelled across the district, building trust and confidence for himself, the APC presidential candidate sweeping the reminants of the PDP. His popularity cuts across social divides as he markets his party’s candidate anchoring his campaign on integrity, national solidarity, and patriotism.

In the middle of his consultations, a clarion call came in akin to an acid test of his loyalty to the party he swore to railroad into leadership in the Senatorial district. It was a call from the leaders of the APC. He was told to step down from his flourishing race to the Senate and given the Isoko Federal Constituency as an option to contest to allow another aspirant take over from the juncture was then. For his followers, it was a hard decision to make, but considering the man his party presented as a substitute to him, he couldn’t reject it but accepted it. Saying “To me, party is supreme.”

He stood down for the party’s anointed candidate and forged ahead in good faith, taking the gauntlet of the electoral contest for the Isoko Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Politicians are groaning. They are moaning and crying for being neglected by the president. Mine is clarion call for the President to do the needful.

“We have implicit confidence in the President but certainly not the cartel that specialises in Nigeria by ambushing/hijacking the good intention of the administration for pecuniary reasons.”

Onyewonsa, a media entrepreneur, lives in Lagos