Reactions have continued to trail the large membership of committees recently constituted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in support of President Bola Tinubu’s political aspirations.

A female politician in Rivers State and Coordinator of the Coalition of Ogoni Women, Patience Osaroejiji, described the large number of members as a sign of panic on the part of the President, who, she alleged, was aware that Nigerians were dissatisfied with his administration and could make a strong decision at the polls.

Osaroejiji said, Nigerians had become tired of what she described as political manoeuvring during elections, adding that the developments had eroded public confidence in the electoral process.

“At this point, I must say that we are tired of the system and the elections because, whether a committee is set up or not, whether Nigerians take a decision to vote according to their wishes, they will still do what they want. This is really sad and discouraging,” she said.

She further described the development as “political corruption” and an attempt to induce people, alleging that politicians were more interested in mobilising individuals who would advance their political interests than to address the basic needs of the people.

Osaroejiji said the situation had further weakened Nigerians’ confidence in the electoral process.

However, a communication scholar at Bingham University and APC chieftain, Darlington Nwauju, defended the President’s decision to constitute a large number of committees.
Nwauju said there was nothing wrong with the President appointing a large number of people to serve on the committees, particularly when such individuals could contribute to his political aspirations.

“Don’t forget that he has the VDP report about his party members, and so when he feels that, for any reasonable cause of action, a particular individual or group has value to add to his aspirations, then he is very free to appoint or call such an individual to support his vision.
“I do not think that is the kind of panic we are talking about,” he said.

On whether the development could affect the effectiveness of the electoral process, Nwauju said Nigeria’s large population made broad-based consultations necessary.

According to him, there was nothing wrong with drawing committee membership from a wide range of people, stressing that the approach could help to accommodate diverse interests.

On whether the development amounted to a breach of due process, he said he did not think so, noting that broad-based consultations were common in politics.

“I do not think so, because there is a common saying in politics that the more, the merrier. It is not a breach at all.
“You also get reports of persons who have failed to obtain or alienated themselves in the entire process. So, it is always normal to make broad-based consultations and, as much as possible, carry several persons along,” he said.

He added that the decision to constitute the committees was ultimately aimed at achieving wider consultations and building support for the President’s political aspirations.