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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Salihu Moh Lukman, has lamented that the ruling party is gradually becoming a replica of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with all the negative attributes.
He said the leaders of the party have failed to realise that APC is not just the ruling party, but about the only party that permits strong internal contests, not just during elections, but even when there are no elections.
Lukman, in a statement he signed in Abuja, complained that the party leaders who were boisterously opposed to the presidential ambition of President Bola Tinubu are today appointees in the federal government.
He further argued that APC is consolidating and emerging as a malfunctioned and despotic party organisation, and increasingly becoming a replica of the PDP by every passing day.
Defending his claims that APC is sliding into the negative impression Nigerians have against the PDP, the former national vice chairman, North West, said: “APC emerged in 2013 with the historical mission of changing Nigerian politics such that our parties are internally democratic.
“Incontestably, both former president Muhammadu Buhari and current President Tinubu gave us the needed leadership to inspire Nigerians into believing and committing their votes to the APC.
“Eight years after, we are still on the starting line. APC is becoming more and more a replica of PDP with all the negative attributes. We have spent eight years under former president Buhari motionless, in terms developing the needed initiatives for party building.
”As things are, it would have been more rewarding if one had been antagonistic, or opportunistic to the person of President Tinubu. When, for instance, party leaders who were boisterously opposed to the presidential ambition of President Tinubu are today appointees in the Federal Government.
“And in the case of governors such as Hope Uzodimma, who financed the attempt to manipulate the emergence of Ahmed Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate of APC, emerging as the chairman of Progressive Governors beat the imagination of every founding leader of APC, and in every respect heartbreaking.
“APC is not just the ruling party, as it is today, it is about the only party that permits strong internal contests, not just during elections, but even when there are no elections.
“Without going into details, this was what defines our experiences between 2019 and 2023. In fact, those strong internal contests were the critical success factors for the emergence of Tinubu as the president today.
“No doubt, he provided the needed leadership both as a national leader and as our presidential candidate for 2023 elections, the expectation of many party leaders and members is that his emergence as the successor to former president Buhari would enable us to reform the party and return it to its founding vision of becoming a progressive party.
“I wish I can say with confidence that our party is going through such a reform. Sadly, instead of reforming the APC to return it to its founding vision, we are consolidating and emerging as a malfunctioned and despotic party organisation, which is increasingly becoming a replica of the PDP by every passing day.
“In addition, we, today, have an APC that is completely in contempt of its own rules. None of the organs of the party is functioning in line with the provisions of the constitution. Partly because structures of the party are not functioning in line with provisions of the APC constitution, leaders of the party are not accountable,” he said.
Having achieved Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the national chairman, whether party organs are functioning or not, it is not President Tinubu’s headache. It was also the reason even if the emergence of Ganduje meant marginalisation of the people from North Central in both the party and the Federal Government, it is not important.
President Tinubu and all APC leaders must be reminded about the APC founding mission of changing Nigerian politics, which is basically about internal reforms within our parties to facilitate the emergence of candidates for electoral contests through democratic means.
“President Tinubu and all APC leaders must not indulge themselves to imagine that simple defeat of PDP and producing former president Buhari and now President Tinubu equates to the political change Nigerians are desirous of.
“So long as APC will allow a situation that could be interpreted to mean consolidating the old political paradigm that promotes lack of accountability and imposition of leadership, it means betrayal of the founding mission of APC.
“We can deceive ourselves to imagine we can continue to succeed in emerging victorious in elections and successful leaders surround themselves with sycophants who only tell them what they want to hear, it will not change the reality of betrayal and it will not protect leaders.
“As loyal party members, we will continue to campaign for the reform of APC and the reforms of party politics generally in the country. Having access to leaders is an advantage. But it is never the sole determinant for a victory,” Lukman said in the statement.
