‘Nigeria Cannot Make Progress As Long As APC Remains A Tool Of The Presidency’ – Salihu Lukman

Former National Working Committee member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has asserted that Nigeria will not make progress if the party remains a tool of the presidency rather than a platform for democratic governance.

Naijaonpoint reports that Lukman, during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, argued that the party’s failure stems from its inability to uphold internal democracy and effectively direct elected representatives.

Lukman, who was involved in the APC’s formation and rise to power, said the party’s leadership has been hijacked by a culture of imposition, where political tickets are handed to individuals based on their ties to the presidency rather than genuine competition.

He said imposition was the issue that led Nigerians to reject the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, believing that the APC would bring change, but the party has become another variant of the PDP.

Lukman also expressed disappointment in President Bola Tinubu, recalling how party members fought against former President, Muhammadu Buhari’s inner circle to ensure a fair process that enabled him to secure the APC presidential ticket.

According to the former APC chieftain, rather than returning the party to its founding vision, Tinubu has allowed the presidency to control the APC, silencing party leadership and turning it into a mere parastatal of the government.

He said, “If we argue that APC has failed, the failure of APC is largely due to its inability to meet a number of some of those criterias. Yes I was a member of the National Working Committee of APC, I was part and parcel of the APC from formation to possibly the present day. But that does not disqualify some of us from highlighting some of the limitations of the APC. I think in terms of the problem of democracy, first the problem of Nigerians with PDP that led to the defeat of PDP in 2015, the major issue is that there is no competition within the party.

“The culture of imposition has taken over the party, so much so that it is predictable. Anybody who has a close relationship with Abuja, with the presidency, can pick ticket at any level of the party without bothering to contract relationship with other members of the party. I think those are some of the issues that we used to campaign against the PDP and made the APC popular. And Nigerians trusted us and believed that we were capable of producing a party that can drive the process of changing Nigeria, which was the campaign mantra in 2015.

“The culture of imposition took over. This is part of my grievance with President Asiwaju. Asiwaju knew very well. We stood up and faced what you call the cabal in the presidency and former president Buhari to fight and ensure that a level playing field was provided within the party which enabled him to win the ticket and become the presidential candidate of the party. Having done that, our expectation was that we will return the party to its founding vision and begin to build a party that can now implement all the campaign promises and direct all elected representatives. Instead, what we see is that a variant of imposition took over, so much so that the party became a parastatal of the presidency of government. Leadership of the party cannot say anything contrary to what President Asiwaju wants. So long as that is the case, we can’t make progress.”