ABUJA – Former National Vice Chairman, North-West of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman, has taken a critical look at the country and concluded that the nine years of APC is worse than the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Lukman, who said that by any standard, both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC have failed Nigerians, added that it is quite disheartening that a party, which has come with all the promises of changing Nigeria for the better has ended up ruining the country.
Lukman said that somehow, unknown or unaware to key political opposition leaders, the strength or confidence of President Tinubu is derived from their inability to open themselves and honestly commence negotiation to build a united front ahead of 2027.
Lukman noted that unlike PDP, which allowed the opposition parties to function when it was in government, the present opposition parties are being manipulated into deeper crisis of existential nature.
He said: “We have moved from being opposition politicians to becoming a ruling party since 2015. Sadly, as a ruling party, we have become worse than the PDP we defeated in 2015. Unlike in the days of the PDP that allowed for opposition parties to function, we are today confronted with the ugly and depressing reality whereby all the opposition parties are being manipulated into deeper crisis of existential nature.
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“For instance, the PDP has a trojan horse in former Governor Nyesom Wike, who is holding the party by juggler and is ready to pull the party down to its political grave of irrelevance. The Labour Party is marred with internal leadership problem with no end in sight.
“Although stakeholders of the party met to appoint a caretaker committee, the legality of the action is suspect. The NNPP is having its own share of leadership challenges and somehow only hoping to survive what is clearly an orchestrated attempt by the invincible APC forces to muscle it out of Kano State, its only political hold.
“At this point, it is important to appeal to our key opposition leaders to wake up and try to be compassionate and appreciate the gravity of the dare heart situation facing citizens. The big question is whether on account of personal ambitions, we want to continue to mismanage our reality and sacrifice every opportunity, which ideally democratic system offers. The opportunity that democratic system offers is that any government, which fails its citizens should be voted out.
“No doubt, by any standard, both President Asiwaju Tinubu and APC have failed Nigerians. It is quite disheartening that a party, which has come with all the promises of changing Nigeria for the better has ended up ruining the country. From the economy to problems of insecurity and corruption, which were the three cardinal challenges APC and former President Muhammadu Buhari promised to tackle in 2015, what we had in 2015 is a child play today.
“Somehow, unknown or unaware to key political opposition leaders, the strength or confidence of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is derived from their inability to open themselves and honestly commence negotiation to build a united front ahead of 2027.
“Key opposition political leaders refer mainly to Alh. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwasau. These are leaders who have paid their dues and are still actively nursing ambitions to become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They were Presidential candidates in the last 2023 election. If anything, President Asiwaju Tinubu and APC won that election on account of their failure to unite under one political platform.”
