Former Federal Lawmaker, Cletus Obun has described as “underemployment” his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Chairman Of the Governing Council at Federal College Of Education, Inditep, Akwa Ibom State.
The APC Chieftain who stated this while responding to interview questions In Conversation with Prof. Adibe on the News Chronicle on Monday Dec 9, decried the level of imbalance in the party’s reward system.
He explained further; “In a situation where there is outright negligence, lack of compensation and appreciation for work done it breeds intra-party crisis. And intra party crises are far deadly to party evolution than inter party crisis. An inter party crisis on the other hand is indeed the motivating force for political parties.”
However, describing the appointment of Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications as well deserved, Ebun maintained that the loyalty of the former Media aide to Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 was never in doubt.
He stated that Bwala played a key role during the presidential primaries that brought in president Bola Tinubu.
Meanwhile, when asked what could be befitting of an appointment for him, Ebun responded;
”If i want to contribute, let me be where i can make my contributions and impact to my country. My area of comparative advantage is communication. I feel like the government is grossly under reported”.
He faulted the effectiveness of the President’s media team despite its blotted nature, lamenting that the policies initiated by the president have always suffered from lack of public support as a result of poor communication.
Recall that the former Cross River Lawmaker had earlier called on President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his approach to political appointments, warning that neglecting loyal party members could have severe consequences.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Obun berated Tinubu’s handling of appointments, describing it as a dangerous misstep that could alienate the party faithful.
He noted that those who worked tirelessly for Tinubu’s 2023 election victory feel sidelined.
“It is a wrong strategy not to reward your own allies. It would surely boomerang. In a developing democracy such as this, it is a brazen affront to loyalty,” Obun stated.
Highlighting the long-standing issue, he compared the current administration’s reward system to that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, which he deemed equally poor.
“APC had the worst reward system under Buhari, and today we’re seeing the repeat. A man works like an elephant and eats like an ant. It’s not correct,” he said.
Obun expressed concerns that Tinubu’s advisers may be steering him toward a dangerous path by downplaying the contributions of loyal supporters.
“Certain attempts are being made to mislead him into thinking those who worked for him in 2023 may not be useful in 2027. That is political suicide to even attempt,” he warned.
Concluding his remarks, Obun issued a stark reminder: “This direction of not rewarding those who worked, even their prayers alone will affect him. Karma is real.”
Obun’s comments underscore growing within the APC over Tinubu’s approach to governance and party loyalty.
