The Middlebelt and Northcentral Association of Women Group (MNAW) has descended heavily on what it calls untold and unwarranted attacks on the person of the Chairperson of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), against whom they described as “our very own Ambassador and an Arewa woman leader, Dr Muheeba Dankaka.”

The group recalled that they have silently and diligently watched “these orchestrated campaigns of calumny by a few Labour Party (LP) committee members in connivance with some Commissioners from few states, represented on the FCC board.”

MNAW noted emphatically that “it behooves on well-meaning Nigerians to look carefully at the clandestine plots of the honourable members in seeking the assistance of disgruntled commissioners who are hell-bent on tarnishing the image of the Commission, all in a bid for stomach infrastructure and mesh of porridge.”

These, they noted, are displayed openly, by accusing the Chairperson of the FCC, simply because of her avowed support for the Presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “during the February 25, 2023 presidential elections.”

The Middlebelt and Northcentral Association of Women Group (MNAW) is miffed by the disloyal attitude and uncouth behaviourial pattern embarked upon by these “disgruntled elements” as unbecoming, as “these are coming from the backdoor, as ethical crimes are being committed, by hoarding and making internal documents available to fifth columnists and traducers, all in a bid to achieve their self-serving ordinate ambitions.” The Association wants to know ” When has it become a crime to be a Woman ” as this is definitely a gang-up against an executive officer who happens to be a woman Muslim, who has done all her best to transform the organization and we will not take it lightly. These same commissioners have threatened her severally that they will deal with her if she doesn’t succumb to their blackmail and Nigerians are not surprised that they were used as pawns against the leadership for pecuniary benefits.

“We emphatically state that ‘enough is enough’ of these wild goose chase of the honourable members from the Southeast and their ilk, including Commissioners who are hell-bent on tarnishing the hard-earned reputation of not only the Commission, but that of Dr Muheeba Dankaka,” the group insisted.

They further averred that the entire women folks occupying government offices or positions of authority in the country have been affected and their psyche demoralized.

 These, they went ahead to acknowledge, “is done with the full knowledge that Dr Dankaka has become a rallying point for women and youths as well as a role model for the disadvantaged young ladies across the Northern region.”

In view of the foregoing, “we vehemently castigate and condemn in the strongest terms, the entirety of these measures and pressures put on the Chairperson, including making her to swear by the Holy Quran under duress, and ambushing her in a gestapo style in a bid to paint her in bad light in the public domain.” 

In a press release issue signed by the National Convener of the Middlebelt and Northcentral Association of Women Group (MNAW), and the General Secretary, Dr Onoche Agnes Agims and Madam Esther Tor respectively, the duo, on behalf of their group, condemned the gangster and gestapo approach orchestrated by the so-called “honourable members.” 

They also warned against the disloyal attitude of the “honourable members” and their collaborators, “who, in agreement with the members, stole internal documents from the Commission.” 

They also referred to the unruly, unethical attitude and approach against the Chairperson as “unheard of in the history of maltreatment meted out to a hard-working female executive, as well as the media trial clandestinely orchestrated by the ‘honourable members’ in consonance with the Commissioners, these all in a bid to cast aspersions on Dr Dankaka’s hard-earned personality.”

They therefore maintained: “We vehemently oppose the religious bias, gender maltreatment, blackmail tactics, including using the Chairperson’s religion as a tool to blackmail her to a pulp.”The group added, “We condemn and discountenance these attitudes and call for an immediate halt of the investigation by the ad-hoc committee, because it has gone beyond the normal norm, as it is rather being used as a witch-hunt by aggrieved members of the Labour Party (LP) and disgruntled Commissioners who are only out to remove the Chairperson, so as to gain unfitted access to the treasury of the Commission.”

The group equally condemned all the allegations levelled against Dr Dankaka as “hogwash, fallacy and mischievous orchestrations, by drowning Commissioners and members who have an axe to grind, because they were not allowed or given what they have previously asked for, from the Chairperson.”  

The association also asserted: “boldly say that these so called Commissioners have no moral standing and obligations to represent the Commission in whatever position, as they have grossly abused their offices and privileges, by dining and washing their hands, including putting sensitive documents in the public domain in a bid to bring down the organization.

“We have no hesitation to assert that these Commissioners have goofed and their decision taken too far as trying to malign the image of Dr Dankaka, who, according to pundits, have repositioned and rebranded the Commission, since coming on board,” they noted.

“We condemn in strong terms and in its entirety all the statements credited to the Commissioners as fake news, hate speech, falsehood, blatant lies and fallacies concocted to smear the image of Dr Dankaka and her leadership,” adding, “these statements, in question, by the so-called Commissioners have, no doubt, generated a lot of dusts and controversies,” and “we view the innuendoes created, the power-play and comments as undiluted bias, and unbecoming of Commissioners of their repute,” further emphasizing that “their utterances are hollow without specifics and parochial, that must not be taken seriously, by the leadership of the National Assembly and right thinking Nigerians,” the group insisted.

In view of the foregoing, “We equally agree that Dr Dankaka has followed the required due process in all her dealings with the Committee members and should therefore be accorded the respect she so deserves, instead of this mudslinging.”

The association further affirms that the Chairperson had redefined her office and repositioned it like never before in its annals.

 Therefore, “We still make bold to ask this rhetoric question: ‘Who is afraid of Dr Dankaka’s rising profile and who is using ‘hand of Esau and Voice of Jacob’ to witch-hunt, blackmail and malign the irrepressible Chairperson of the FCC?” This, they insisted, is despite her patriotism and determination to change the status quo, that is known to all and sundry.

At this juncture, the group calls on the National Assembly leadership and well-meaning Nigerians to disregard, disparage and discountenance the campaign of calumny against Dr Muheeda Dankaka, whose legacies in the Commission are yielding dividends for the nation.

“We call on the disgruntled Commissioners and few Labour Party honourable members spearheaded by a woman of the Southeast extraction to be mindful of her clandestine plots that are already in the public domain,” as those “who live in glass house don’t throw stones,” as there is more to it than meet the eyes. This, the group insists are calculated ethnic, religious and gender coloration from the member’s perspective on this vexed issue.”

On this premise, the association avers that “these disgruntled Commissioners are ethnic and religiously bias.” Therefore, “these members have goofed, have equally become parochial, myopic, partisan, clannish,” whose behaviour is alien to the genuine sacrifices of Dr Dankaka in repositioning the Commission.

“We therefore pass a vote of confidence on Dr Dankaka’s sterling leadership of the FCC and kindly advise that she should be allowed to concentrate on her job and not be distracted by any person or authority,” because through our painstaking investigation, “we have discovered that these detractors are only out to milk and empty the treasury of the FCC as they do not have the interest of Nigerians at heart, but are only self-serving and hell-bent on destroying anyone who does not tow to their whims and caprices.”