‘APC is being held captive,’ says Lukman, ex-DG, Progressives Governors’ Forum

Former Director-General of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, says the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is being held captive by few leaders whose interest, according to him, ‘is only about imposing themselves as candidates for elections.’

The PGF is the umbrella body of state governors elected under the platform of the APC.

Lukman resigned his position as Director General of the PGF. earlier January, this year, over disagreement with the Caretaker Committee of the party regarding failure of its members to resign their positions ahead of the planned National Convention of the APC in February.

He had earlier demanded that members of the committee must resign their positions if they would not be able to conduct the party’s national convention in February.

In a statement issued, Sunday in Abuja, Lukman decried the dwindling democratic values enshrined in the party ‘from the period 2013 to 2015,’ as he, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari, who, he said, ‘does not meddle in the affairs of the party for.’

“Given where the nation is coming from under PDP, changing Nigerian politics would require a departure from requiring citizens to be blindly loyal to elected leaders. It should require that citizens and party members are free to disagree and criticise elected leaders.

“In other words, politics of change should produce elected leaders who should be highly tolerant and where possible even accommodate disagreements and criticisms as part the process of decision making.

“These may sound like wishful thoughts. The truth however is that our dear APC is being held captive by some few leaders whose interest is only about imposing themselves as candidates for elections. So long as that is the case, it means what we have as APC today wasn’t the party negotiated and produced out of our legacy parties.

“Rather than the envisioned party, which allows for internal debates and disagreements among party leaders and members, based on which there could be negotiations and agreements, APC today has been diminished to only an election platform, which is what the founding leaders and members wanted to change. The commitment to change the profile of political parties beyond being election platforms was precisely part of why Nigerians supported the APC in 2015”, he stated.

He said unlike the case of the PDP, APC was extremely lucky to have a leader in President Muhammadu Buhari who does not meddle in the affairs of the party.

“Sadly, this became the license for party leaders to abuse the trust of both the President and majority of party leaders and members. Over time, this has damaged the profile of the APC to the point whereby, based on the conduct of leaders and some elected representatives of the party, it is difficult to associate the APC with its founding vision of change.

“Problems of intolerance to disagreements and criticisms, with some leaders expecting members to be blindly loyal is becoming a common attribute. Views of party leaders become dominantly decisions of party organs.

“Even when consultations take place and there is a clear decision, so long as the decisions are not what some few party leaders want, those decisions will not be implemented. It doesn’t matter whether President Buhari was part of the consultations and in agreement with the decision. Propensity to disrespect decisions and party leaders, including the President, is very high today in APC.

“Every founding leader and member of the APC must rise to the challenge of arresting the drift in the party. Few individual leaders of the party must not be allowed to continue to impose themselves and destroy a party with potential to provide the needed democratic platform for negotiated resolutions of all the problems of Nigeria. As it is today, APC is the only party where contestation is taking place.

“Again, thanks to President Buhari who is providing unbiased leadership to the party, it is possible for ordinary members to express themselves, including disagreeing with decisions of leaders of the party. This unique leadership of President Buhari has helped a lot to sustain the hope of both party leaders, members and Nigerians desirous of political change.

“Beyond the unbiased leadership of President Buhari, there is the need for all party leaders and members committed to the politics of change to ensure the emergence of party leaders at February 26, 2022, National Convention who must be tolerant to criticisms and disagreements and should not expect members to be blindly loyal.

“Above all, if APC is to return to its founding vision of driving the process of change in Nigeria, it must produce leaders who would be able to compel elected representatives produced by the party to be accountable to Nigerians”, Lukman stated.