by Mark Itsibor
The All Progressives Congress (APC) women’s group, codenamed 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023, has begun mobilising over 10.689 million women to vote for the party’s presidential joint ticket of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima.
The group stated that it will accomplish this feat by mobilising 60 women in each of the country’s 176, 846 polling units to ensure that APC candidates win at all levels of competition in the upcoming 2023 elections.
The 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023 began the process of mobilizing the women block votes with the commissioning of its head office in the Gwarinpa estate of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja at the weekend. The office space is donated by Senator Binta Masi Garba.Its chairman, national organising committee, Hon Faith Pakuma said they received 2,500 decampees from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State at the launch of its South-South zonal body the previous day.
She said the 774 Women for BAT-KASH 2023 is an umbrella for women; a grassroot movement for BAT-KASH, an initiative that is designed to support the candidature of Tinubu/Shetima.
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“We want to achieve 60 women as polling unit commanders in each of the LGAs across the country to work with us and help mobilise support for all the candidates of the party in the coming elections,” Pakuma said.
Chairman, advisory committee of the body and chairman of NDLEA, Gen Buba Marwa (rtd) said the APC candidates are the preferred candidates in the 2023 general election. He said the target of mobilizing 60 women of voting age with their passport photographs and relevant details across the 176, 846 polling units in the country is both laudable and achievable by November 2022.
Mr Marwa who urged the group to get down to work by partnering with other support groups, said “it is essential to be strategic in our approach” with an enduring and credible structure in all the wards and polling units.
“As the chairman of the advisory committee for this group, | urge you to remain committed, steadfast, and focused on success come 2023. I am prepared and available to share practical ideas with you based on my wealth of experience,” he the NDLEA chairman who was represented by the former DG of the agency, Otumba Lanre.
Minister for state, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs Sharon Ikeazor said the group has a massive work cut out ahead for it. She promised to “give you all my support,” she said, adding, “apart from the presidential candidates, let us support all female candidates nationwide to ensure the possibility of more women in position by 2023.”
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Wife of APC national chairman, Barr Kadija Abdullahi Adamu urged the candidates of the party to ensure they give the women folk its recommended 35 percent representation in government. “We will make good use of the opportunity to mobilise support for BAT-KASH candidacy,” she said.
Senator Garba said women are an essential component to the coming elections. She expressed confidence that the target or mobilising over 10 million bloc votes.
She said the 778 Watnen for BAT-KASH Is a group committed to grassroots mobilisation of votes “for our party’ candidates in the 2023 presidential and other elections”.
