CONCERNS have started mounting over the continuous failure of a number of high profile political and traditional leaders to secure appointments with President Bola Tinubu in recent months, sources close to the power system have said.
Informed persons told the Sunday Tribune at the weekend that a number of influential persons who usually had unfettered access to the president have practically been cut off.
It was learnt that while many of them wanted to see him on issues affecting the government, a few were seeking the president’s attention on pending issues of federal appointments.
It was gathered that the delay being experienced was leading to frustrations among party leaders and even traditional leaders in the zone.
Sources said that some who planned to confer with the president on matters of national importance, especially the growing challenges facing the government, have been unable to do so as a result of their failure to secure necessary appointments.
A source stated that some party members have complained about delays in getting appointments to see the president and that the development recently spread to some monarchs who are known as close allies of President Tinubu.
“The villa system has to know that he needs feedback from his people and that not a few people will be whispering to us on the basis of the relationship they believe we maintain,” a source stated.
The source said that if the tradition of what happened during the past presidents had been maintained, some of such persons should be on the villa’s priority lists.
Some notable leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South-West have been complaining about being sidelined in recent months.
It was learnt that some of the leaders were only able to keep up with Tinubu in Lagos during the yuletide break.
Sources, however, said that the need to avail the president of feedback on certain issues means that many of them already have the need for fresh appointments.
“I thought they used to issue Villa Cards to some notable persons under previous administrations. If that is the case, a number of our leaders should not be on the waiting list for so long,” a member of the ruling party had said.
It was also confirmed that some core loyalists of the president from the South-West who played key roles during the 2023 elections were already feeling marginalised by the setting of the presidential villa.
Recently a leader of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), Senator Soji Akanbi, granted a newspaper interview in which he decried the failure of the president to reward many of his loyalists who sacrificed for his election last year.
A source stated that contrary to the claim, Tinubu had made several appointments from the South West, adding that statistics do not support the claim.
“Some of our leaders who want to update the president on some feedback have felt marginalised. Apart from issues of government appointments, there are concerns about the need for the government to receive feedback on certain matters that concern the people,” a source stated.
He said that the delay in seeing through some planned appointments is not helping the flow the party members expect from the new government.
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