The former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman has advised the party to avoid falling on the same “banana peel” that led to the opposition into political misfortune in 2015.
He said the governing party would have to return to its progressive founding visions and constitutional order to continue to provide political leadership for the country.
The former Director-General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) gave the advice on Wednesday, October 25, in Abuja in a statement he titled, “APC: The Inconvenient Reality.“
Lukman noted that the emergence of APC in 2013 raised the hopes of Nigerians that the party would provide a different model of party administration such that processes of candidates’ selection and party governance could allow for broader membership participation.
He argued further that Nigerians saw the birth of APC as an end to incidences of imposition of candidates and party leadership and allegations of large-scale corruption, which characterises PDP’s sixteen years tenure as a ruling party at the federal level and in the majority of the 36 states of the federation.
Reminiscing, the APC chieftain noted that “the operative culture in PDP was that incidences of imposition of candidates made a mockery of the party primary. Largely because leaders of the PDP who were delegates during the party primary were surrogates of aspiring candidates, manipulation of the results of the primary was the trademark for candidate selection. Similarly, allegations of vote buying during the PDP primary were the order.
“Without going into details, these were problems, which frustrated Nigerians and at the time of the emergence of APC in 2013, Nigerians wanted an alternative model of party administration. Not just an alternative model, Nigerians wanted a model that would eliminate or minimize incidences of imposition of candidates and party leaders as well as guaranteeing proficient and accountable party governance.
“Given the promise of CHANGE, combined with the popularity of former President Muhammadu Buhari, especially in the Northern parts of the country, Nigerians found in APC a new political adoration with the high optimism of birthing a new party different from what defines the PDP since 1999. The rest, as is often said, is now history – APC succeeded in replacing the PDP in 2015 and became the ruling party at the federal level and in the majority of the 36 states.”
He, however, lamented that recent developments in the ruling party tend to tilt the party on the same pre-2013 path as the PDP.
Assessing the ten years of existence of the ruling party, Lukman lamented that “the reality is that, as a party, it is yet to emerge as the model Nigerians expected when it emerged in 2013.
“Incidences of imposition of candidates and allegations of vote buying unfortunately have gradually found strong expression in APC. With serving Governors alleged to be exercising what could be considered monopoly control of party structures at state levels, the APC primary is reduced to window-dressing activity, producing anointed candidates. Internal party contests are being muscled out of existence. Inducements to party leaders at all levels have graduated beyond rational comprehension.
Calling for caution, the former zonal chairman advised that the confidence Nigerians invested in APC should not be taken for granted
He cautioned that “It will be a big political tragedy and a disservice to Nigerians if APC is allowed to be destroyed by condoning undemocratic practices of imposition and unconstitutional conduct of running affairs of the APC without allowing the structures of the party to be functional as provided in the APC constitution.
Democracy is about the rule of law. Any party that is in contempt of its own rules cannot produce accountable, representative, and responsible leaders. For APC and President Tinubu to turn a new positive democratic leaf, restore constitutional order, and return APC to its founding vision of being a progressive party is non-negotiable!”