I helped Tinubu win presidency, but APC has lost direction – Fayemi

Kayode Fayemi, Former Ekiti State Governor says he played a key role in helping President Bola Tinubu secure victory in the 2023 presidential election, but warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is gradually losing its ideological direction as growing public frustration reshapes Nigeria’s political landscape.

Speaking during an interview on State Affairs, a podcast hosted by Edmund Obilo, Fayemi described the rise of former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi as a political phenomenon that disrupted Nigeria’s traditional power structure and exposed widespread dissatisfaction with mainstream parties.

The former governor said the APC, which he helped build, has drifted away from the progressive ideals that united its founding members ahead of the 2015 elections. According to him, the party is now facing an internal crisis fueled by the absence of ideological debate, weak internal democracy and increasing political exclusion.

“I helped Tinubu to become president, but the APC has lost its bearing, and Peter Obi is a phenomenon,” Fayemi said.

He warned that Nigeria cannot survive under a winner-takes-all political culture that sidelines millions of citizens from governance, adding that many Nigerians now feel disconnected from the political process because power has become concentrated in the hands of a few political elites.

Fayemi called for transparent primary elections, inclusive governance and the restructuring of the Nigerian federation to ensure fairness and balanced development across the country. He also stressed the need for political parties to reconnect with citizens through issue-based leadership rather than relying on ethnic calculations and elite political arrangements.

According to him, the outcome of the 2023 elections signaled a major shift in Nigeria’s political dynamics, especially among young voters and urban populations who rallied behind Obi despite the dominance of the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The former minister maintained that unless political parties embrace reforms and restore internal democracy, public trust in Nigeria’s democratic system could continue to decline.