The Director- General, Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman has observed that in the same circumstances as in Rivers, Zamfara and Bayelsa States, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would lost Edo and Ondo States in the forthcoming governorship elections.
This is as Lukman said: “It was Rivers, Zamfara and Bayelsa. Now, Edo and Ondo are basically on a roller coaster with perhaps emerging with the same predictable outcome that consumed our electoral victories in Zamfara and Bayelsa States”.
The APC Chieftain who asked whether this should be allowed to happen, said every member and leader of APC should be troubled and spurred into some sober reflections with the objective of remedying the situation.
In a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday, Lukman noted that it unfortunately, appeared that APC leaders and members are more determined to reproduce all the painful experiences, every time they are faced with electoral contests.
He said it was quite unfortunate that APC members and leaders found themselves in the stagnant political water of brazen acts of imposition of candidates through some applications of crude technicalities under the leadership of Adams Oshiomhole as National Chairman.
According to the PGF Boss, recalling his fascinating proclamation while announcing his intention to aspire for the office of National Chairman of APC on May 10, 2018, it is not reconcilable that the same Oshiomhole is today as the National Chairman of the party perpetrating the direct opposite of what he promised in 2018.
“Two points are worth lifting from Comrade Oshiomhole’s speech of May 10, 2018: we will ensure that we identify and where necessary verify who is a member of APC. For us, the irreducible minimum for the party leadership is to have a credible membership register that cannot be altered at the whims and caprices of anyone. The register will be available to any member of the party who desires it. It is important to note that the idea of a credible membership record agrees with the vision of the founding fathers of the party which led the establishment of the APC Data Centre in Lagos”.
“I challenge Comrade Oshiomhole to publish APC’s membership register for every state of the country. No one should push us into debate about modes of internal party elections without producing the register of voters. It is like getting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections without displaying voters register. It will be criminal, and it will undermine every known democratic principle.
“The second point Comrade Oshiomhole made in 2018 was: we shall put in place mechanism for conflict management. We know that in human interactions, there are bound to be conflicts arising from differences in opinion and perspectives. The responsibility of the party will be to engage in consensus building and conflict management. In particular, we will intervene in the lingering crises between Governors and members of the National Assembly in their respective states as a result of poor communication, conflict of interest, or just being victims of rumour mongering. When I am given the privilege to lead the party by being elected at the National Convention, we will proactively engage all the parties involved in such conflicts with a view to helping them to find common ground on the basis of justice, equity and fairness, and without bias”.
“Where is the mechanism for conflict management in APC today, after two years of Comrade Oshiomhole’s leadership? Can Comrade Oshiomhole mention just one instance where the party under his leadership is able to resolve any of the crises in the party? Or, can Comrade Oshiomhole just mention one case where the party was able to get members to build consensus?”, he questioned.
Lukman recalled that under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), between 1999 and 2015, Nigerians were robbed of the opportunity to have choices during elections, hence most Nigerians expected some decorum and civility in the internal management of electoral contests in APC.
He lamented that APC has taken Nigerian politics to a level far below what it was before 2015, sequel to the antics of Oshiomhole.
“Are we on this roller coaster simply because we have to pay the price for all the political infractions we inherited allegedly from People’s Democratic Party (PDP)? If this is the case, wouldn’t it have been better for Nigerians to live with those alleged PDP infractions?” Lukman queried.
He added that: “it is clear that APC leadership as currently constituted under the leadership of Comrade Oshiomhole is imprudent and cannot be entrusted with the task of leading the party. Comrade Oshiomhole’s NWC has hawked the soul of the party to political buccaneers whose narrow interest is just about unfairly winning elections.
“Party members must wake up and face the arduous task of reclaiming the leadership of the party. Such a task must be about ensuring the emergence of honest leadership for the party – a leadership that should be able to allow free application of provisions of the APC constitution”.
While appealing to APC leaders and members not to abandon the party for Oshiomhole, Lukma said: “For the avoidance of doubt, APC does not belong to anybody. It is a product of sacrifice by leaders and members of our old legacy parties.
“Nobody should contemplate leaving the party on account of the rascality going on in the party under Comrade Oshiomhole’s leadership. All members of the party and lovers of democracy in Nigeria must rise against what is going on in APC. It is a struggle for the soul of APC”.
