From Fred Itua, Abuja
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has concluded plans to kick off its campaigns with the inauguration of the APC Women Presidential Campaign Team.
The party, through the organising committee of the Tinubu-Shettima Women Presidential Campaign Team, said the formal inauguration of members of its various committees will hold on Monday, at the Presidential Villa.
Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, was last week announced as the grand patron of the women’s wing of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Team.
The wife of the presidential candidate, Oluremi Tinubu, a three-term senator representing Lagos Central and former First Lady of Lagos State, and that of the vice presidential candidate, former First Lady of Borno State Nana Shettima will serve as chairman and co-Chairman respectively.
The announcement of the women’s campaign team has drawn positive reactions from across the country, with many Nigerians wondering why other parties are not making similar efforts regarding gender mainstreaming in their respective presidential campaigns.
Others have noted that the APC’s women’s campaign team, comprising over 1,200 women drawn from across the country, further bolsters the party’s gender-sensitive credentials as the APC is also the only major political party to have a female gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 election cycle.
Sources within the party said the women’s campaign team will enjoy a degree of autonomy and organise its own programmes, and that there will be activities at the national, zonal and state levels.
“Efforts are also reportedly ongoing to rally the thousands of women-focused support groups affiliated with the APC for a nationwide mass mobilisation project,” a party source said.
