Former APC deputy chairman Lukman accuses his party, Buhari and Tinubu of destroying Nigeria

Former National Deputy Chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has accused former President Muhammadu Buhari, incumbent President Bola Tinubu and the ruling party of destroying Nigeria, urging Nigerians to replace the party in 2027.

Lukman, who made the allegations in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, lamented the way his former party and the Buhari and Tinubu duo had ruined the nation, saying 2027 was a golden opportunity to replace them.

He, however, noted that replacing the APC in 2027 would not be enough to fix all the ills that have beset the party and its leadership in the country, but urged Nigerians to work hard to strengthen a system where the new political parties that will produce the next leaders, have the power to check elected officials.

The former APC Chairman lamented the lack of unity and purpose among the current opposition politicians.
‘working at cross purposes as they each focus on their presidential ambitions, rather than putting aside their narrow interests under the broader national interest of saving the nation from the grip of today’s hardline politicians.’

Lukman stated that unbeknownst to the main political opposition leaders, President Tinubu’s strength or confidence stems from their inability to open up and start honest negotiations to build a united front ahead of 2027.

He expressed disappointment that the likes of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have not united to form a formidable opposition that will be able to oust the APC from power in 2027.

Lukman said while the opposition leaders all agreed that President Tinubu’s performance in the past one year since he took office was dismal, unfortunately, their agreement has not led them to work together to build a common platform that can mobilize and unite Nigerians to defeat President Tinubu and the APC in 2027.

According to him, ‘their inability to initiate proper political negotiations has emboldened President Tinubu to continue his impulsive and visionless governance experiment, undeterred by the bitter realities he has created for Nigerians.’

“At this point, it is important to appeal to our main opposition leaders to wake up and try to be sympathetic and understand the seriousness of the dire situation that the citizens are facing,” he said.

“The big question is whether, because of personal ambition, we want to continue to mismanage our reality and sacrifice every opportunity that a democratic system ideally offers.

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“The opportunity that a democratic system offers is that any government that fails its citizens must be removed. There is no doubt that by any standard, both President Tinubu and the APC have failed Nigerians. It is sad that a party that came with all the promises to change Nigeria for the better has ended up destroying the country.

“From the economy to the issues of insecurity and corruption, which were the three major challenges that the APC and former President Muhammadu Buhari promised to address in 2015, what we faced in 2015 is just child’s play today.

“The bitter truth is that both former President Buhari and President Tinubu have turned out to be selfish and incapable of producing the leaders needed to steer the country out of the challenges it currently faces. Of course, all of us who actively supported these leaders never imagined that they would turn out to be such big losers.

“We have changed from being opposition politicians to being the ruling party since 2015. Unfortunately, as a ruling party, we have become worse than the PDP that we defeated in 2015. Unlike the days when the PDP allowed opposition parties to function, today we are faced with a grim and sad reality where all opposition parties are being manipulated into a deeper existential crisis.

“Despite their common enemy being the APC, and despite being aware of all these leaders, worryingly, the three leaders still think they can succeed individually. I hope I am wrong. But I am increasingly worried that these leaders, if not moderated, will take us down the same old route of mismanagement due to personal ambition.

“Apart from the main opposition leaders, we may need to focus more on the second generation opposition leaders. Who are these second generation opposition leaders? They are the Yemi Osinbajos, Rotimi Amaechis, Kayode Fayemis, Nasir El-Rufais, Rauf Aregbesolas, Aminu Waziri Tambuwals, Ibikunle Amosuns, etc.

“Based on our experience with the APC, the Nigerian people are not only interested in the defeat of the APC and President Tinubu in 2027. Clearly, what the Nigerian people want is the defeat of the APC and President Tinubu to produce a truly democratic country that is responsive to the needs of the Nigerian people.

“To achieve this, it is necessary to have a strong political party that can regulate and direct the behavior of all elected representatives of the people, especially the President of the Federal Republic.

“Nigerians are wary of simply supporting someone’s ambitions just because we are not happy with the performance of the incumbent President. What caused the failure of the APC, former President Buhari and now President Tinubu? What is missing in the APC organization that makes it worse than the PDP?

“How can we give birth to a new party that can overcome the weaknesses of the APC and ensure that the people’s representatives produced by the new party, including the President, will not become emperors and rulers?” the statement concluded.

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