Hon. Philip Agbese, the lawmaker representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency has strongly criticised the exclusion of his name from the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.

Agbese, who heads the Renewed Hope Labourers Network, one of the largest political platforms that has formally allied with the All Progressives Congress, said the decision to invite opposition figures such as FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke while overlooking the group was deeply unfair.

The Labour Party leader in Benue State, noted that his network remains one of the strongest non-APC structures actively mobilising support for the President’s re-election bid across the country.

He disclosed that the omission has already triggered widespread concern among his members, many of whom contacted him from different parts of Nigeria seeking explanations for his absence from the high-profile event.

“Inviting Wike, Adeleke for inauguration of Tinubu’s Campaign Council without us is totally wrong,” Agbese declared.

“Aside from the APC, we have the largest support network backing the President. Many of our members have called across the country to find out why I was not at the Presidential Villa. I had to explain to them.”

He added that the situation required urgent attention from the party leadership.

“This is something the National Chairman and all of them have to correct,” the Benue lawmaker stated, emphasising that the Renewed Hope Labourers Network had consistently demonstrated loyalty and organisational strength in support of the President.

While the APC has publicly celebrated the inclusion of cross-party figures such as Wike and Adeleke as evidence of a “rainbow coalition,” some alliance partners now feel sidelined despite their contributions on the ground.

Agbese’s platform is widely regarded within Labour Party circles in Benue and beyond as a key mobilisation vehicle that has helped expand the President’s reach among opposition-leaning voters.

His public complaint therefore risks creating an impression of selective recognition at a time when the campaign is seeking to project unity and inclusiveness.

“Our members are asking questions and I cannot continue to give incomplete answers,” Agbese said.

“We have worked hard, organised, and delivered support. To be left out of an event of this magnitude sends the wrong signal.”

He further stressed that the issue was not about personal ambition but about fairness to the thousands of supporters who look up to the network.

“If people who are not even in formal alliance structures can be invited and given roles, then those who have stood by the President through an organised platform should not be ignored.”