Lukman: ‘Reckless’ Adamu Will Lead APC to Political Suicide if Left Unchecked

 *Says ‘pompous’ Omisore lacks power to win election

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The National Vice Chairman, North-west of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Salihu  Lukman, has described the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, as a reckless conservative and reactionary politician, who, if left unchecked, would lead APC to committing political suicide.

He said that all party leaders and members must wake up to this reality and stop Adamu from achieving his mission of self-destroying the APC.

Lukman, in an open letter to APC leaders noted that the ‘pompous’ National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, lacks capacity to win election in Osun State and yet pretends to command political influence.

He lamented that billions of Naira had been expended based on discretionary decisions of the Chairman and Secretary.

Lukman stressed that till date, no member of the National Working Committee (NWC) could claim to know how much was in all the accounts of the party outside Adamu and Omisore and perhaps the National Treasurer and National Financial Secretary.

The party chieftain stressed that Osun and Ekiti elections cost the party billions without any attempt to review experiences, adding that in the case of Osun, to specifically identify reasons why the party lost the election.

He noted that the ruling party faced an embarrassing situation whereby in Osun during the just concluded 2023 elections, was roundly defeated.

Lukman said: “We lost all the three Senatorial seats, lost all the seats for the House of Representatives and lost all the House of Assembly seats. And this is the state where the National Secretary, Omisore comes from. And he sits shamelessly, pompously and pretending to command political influence when he cannot win any election.

“If we are truly aspiring to be a progressive party, leadership must be earned. Omisore must give account of his leadership in Osun State in every respect. Osun is the only state in the country today where the party has no single elected representative. Maybe we have Counsellors, who by this trend would be voted out in the next election.”

The national vice chairman said he had been accused of violating the agreements reached at the NWC meeting of May 3, 2023 that he should stop media campaigns and use internal structures of the party to make his demands.

He pointed out that since the agreements of May 3, no dedicated meeting was convened to consider all the issues that made it compelling to institute the court case aimed at restoring constitutional order in APC in the first place.

Lukman noted that Adamu and Omisore are the ones who have betrayed the agreements reached on May 3, after their failure to convene meetings of structures of the party after May 10, 2023.

He revealed that Adamu, Omisore and the two Deputy National Chairmen, Senator Abubakar Kyari and Chief Emma Eneukwu, were part of the consultations that led to the zoning arrangement of the 10th Assembly released by the party,

According to him, “To my mind, I believe the complaints by party leaders and members from North-central about exclusion are legitimate. However, the way to resolve the grievances would have been to put all the leadership positions in the two chambers of the National Assembly as part of the basket of positions being negotiated. This is in the first place what Article 13.4(vi) of the APC constitution directed the NWC to first undertake by developing a proposed electoral guidelines and regulations to guide negotiations within the structures of the APC.”

Lukman added that to recommend consultations without providing the needed leadership through activating meetings of organs of the party, was, to say the least, dereliction of responsibility.

He noted: “He knows exactly what he is doing by not convening the meetings of organs of the party. By every definition, Sen. Adamu’s politics is conservative and reactionary.

“Unfortunately, however, based on all the unfolding realities, he is on a reckless conservative and reactionary politician, who, if left unchecked, can pull the party in the direction of committing political suicide. All party leaders and members must wake up to this reality and stop Sen. Adamu from achieving his mission of self-destroying the APC.”

Lukman added that both Adamu and Omisore, from all available reports, appeared to be animated that he had resumed public advocacy on the need to save the APC and ensure that the structures of the party are given life in line with provisions of the APC constitution.

He said now that he has resumed his campaign, no amount of bullying would deter him.

He added: “Nobody, no matter how highly placed, should imagine that the best way to win debates and contestation is to bully and blackmail opponents. I can guarantee you; no amount of bullying will stop the campaign to return APC to constitutional order.

“By the way, you are free to expel me from APC, but you cannot expel me as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. APC is not a private property. It is a public political organisation with rule, which must be respected. Sen. Adamu and Sen. Omisore can block organs of the APC from meeting to the extent that other leaders of the party are willing to permit. No one can block me, in any way, from discharging my right to engage the issues both as Nigerian and as a member of APC, expelled or not.

“Perhaps, let me also indulge the National Chairman, Sen. Adamu by informing him that contrary to his campaign of slander against me, I consider myself a very successful person. Unlike the lies he enjoys telling NWC members that I was sacked in five places, in all the places I worked, I left credible records, and they are all there to be verified. Respect begets respect. I respect Sen. Adamu and I will not, because of disagreement with his politics, slander his person and his reputation.”