The immediate past National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former Governors Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Rotimi Amaechi to team up in order to defeat the ruling APC in 2027.
Lukman, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, also listed in the proposed merger former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Governors Nasir el-Rufai, Rauf Aregbesola, Kayode Fayemi and Ibikunle Amosun, among other political leaders.
Lukman, in the statement titled “Future of Democracy in Nigeria”, said building the kind of united front capable of moving Nigerian democracy forward requires selflessness on the part of Nigerian political leaders.
While lamenting the current situation of the country, the former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) decried a situation where APC as the ruling party in Nigeria promised to provide the needed leadership to fight corruption but has instead legitimised higher level of corruption in the country and also legitimising the phenomenon of ‘state capture’ virtually at all levels.
He said APC became very popular on account of the failings of the PDP, but after gaining power, failed to live up to expectations.
“No doubt, former President Buhari had his problem as a leader. However, whatever was estimated to be his failure should be the shared responsibility of APC leaders in varying degrees, including President Asiwaju Tinubu. No leader of APC should attempt to distance himself/herself from the failure of the Buhari era, certainly, not President Asiwaju Tinubu,” Lukman said in the statement.
“In one way or the other, APC leaders, without exception, are ‘beneficiaries’ of the Buhari era, just as some of them could claim to be victims. On balance however, APC leaders benefited more from the Buhari era than being victims. At least electorally, former President Buhari made it possible for APC to defeat the PDP. Without former President Buhari, the defeat of PDP in 2015 would have been almost impossible, and by extension, arguably, would have been difficult, if not impossible for President Asiwaju Tinubu to become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Unfortunately, having defeated the PDP in 2015, APC failed to produce the needed collective leadership required to manage the machinery of governments produced by the party at all levels. Gradually, APC succeeded in turning democracy on its head. Instead of producing democratic leaders, elected leaders increasingly became emperors and overlords. State machinery became captured and privatised to almost exclusively only serve the interests of elected representatives,” he said.
