Last Updated on: 5th August 2023, 11:59 pm
By David Okema
A group of irritated members of the ruling party National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Gulu district have threatened to quit if, President Yoweri Museveni continues to turn a deaf ear and doesn’t fulfil his pledges.
The group led by James Ocen the General Secretary of NRM Gulu district, claims the national chairman – President Museveni has ignored them since he was elected in 2016.
They also claim Mr Museveni has failed to fulfil his countless pledges to the NRM party members and his voters in the district.
Speaking at a press conference in Gulu town on Friday 23, November 2018, Mr Ocen pointed out several unfulfilled pledges including scholarships, financial support for business and agricultural ventures, and donations in terms of ox-plough and tractors to boost the livelihood of the party members. A few years ago, Ocen says the president met them and made such promises.
“The national chairman is taking us (NRM members) in Gulu as if we are not his supporters,” Ocen said
Mr Ocen said some of the pledges were made to them during the by-election of Omoro Women Member of Parliament, a race in which Catherine Lamwaka emerged a winner out of eight candidates.
According to Mr Ocen, 20 slots of annual scholarship for members was offered to Gulu party officials but, for the last three to four years, he reveals the opportunities have been run centrally from Kampala making them miss education upgrade.
Apart from the issue of pledges and scholarship, the faction also are concerned about how President Museveni is working through the party structures, arguing that Museveni should learn to work based on the party structures and not through mafias.
“It is a demand, if he never responds to us between 20 and 27 November 2018, we will walk to Entebbe and if we are blocked from accessing him, we will resign NRM membership,” Ocen reiterated.
Lameck Lambert Akena, NRM Administrator in Gulu noted that bureaucracy in NRM has affected the party in achieving its 10 points programme greatly, in Gulu district and if not urgently addressed, he added many party members will quit.
He said such bureaucracy is frustrating the visions of the young cadres because they can’t be heard.
In a letter dated November 16th addressed to President, it said after the election of the LC1 and LC2 where the party won massively across the district, they invited the President to grace the thanksgiving prayer for the party performance but their request was turned down without any feedback.
In their recent attempt, the aggrieved party members alleged that they were blocked from Omoro, Agago, Lira, Amuru and Gulu when President Museveni made visits to northern Uganda.
“We tried to meet him on several occasions when he was in Gulu but all in vain, yet he meets very many people from other parts of the country. We the hosts are never allowed access to our national chairman,” a paragraph from the letter to the president reads.
They also claim there are some unscrupulous party members in big posts from the region and from within Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB), now known as Special Forces Command [SFC] constantly blocking them whenever they attempt to meet the president. The rejected fans say they are unhappy with such treatment.
They also accused President Museveni of being biased while splashing money on various groups; they cited Ghetto youth in Kampala and Wakiso and others in the Mbarara and neglected the upcountry members.
The aggrieved party members comprise sub-county chairpersons and Women league leaders from Awach, Patiko, Pece, Palaro, and Paicho, among others.