Hon. Philip Agbese, the lawmaker representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency in Benue State, has criticised the exclusion of his Renewed Hope Labourers Network from the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja.
Agbese, who leads the political platform, said it was unfair to invite figures associated with opposition parties, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, while overlooking his group.
“Inviting Wike, Adeleke for inauguration of Tinubu’s Campaign Council without us is totally wrong,” Agbese said.
The Labour Party chieftain in Benue State claimed that his network was among the largest political platforms outside the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporting Tinubu’s re-election bid.
He said the omission had prompted members of the network across the country to contact him for explanations about his absence from the event held at the Presidential Villa.
“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 said.
Agbese called on the APC leadership to address the situation, saying the network’s contributions to the President’s political mobilisation deserved recognition.
“This is something the National Chairman and all of them have to correct,” he said.
He maintained that the complaint was not about personal ambition but about what he described as fairness to the thousands of supporters associated with the group.
“Our members are asking questions and I cannot continue to give incomplete answers. We have worked hard, organised, and delivered support. To be left out of an event of this magnitude sends the wrong signal,” Agbese said.
The lawmaker also questioned the decision to include political figures outside the APC’s formal structure while excluding a group he said had consistently mobilised support for Tinubu.
“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,” he said.
The development comes amid efforts to present Tinubu’s political coalition as an inclusive alliance bringing together supporters from different political backgrounds ahead of the next general election.