APC’s Lukman and Politics of Confrontation

The recent resignation of the All Progressives Congress National Vice Chairman, North-west, Dr. Salihu Lukman, to some stakeholders was unexpected to say the least. Adedayo Akinwale takes a cursory look at the man and his politics.

Last Wednesday, the usual and unexpected news filtered out of Buhari House, the national headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC),  that the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-west, Dr. Salihu Lukman has resigned as a member of the National Working Committee (NWC).

Lukman had in a letter dated July 26, 2023, which was  addressed to the Acting National Chairman of the party, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said his resignation  became necessary given his conviction that the atmosphere in the party was completely at variance with the founding vision of forming a progressive party.

The letter read in part: “I hereby kindly resign my position as National Vice Chairman, North-West of our great party, All Progressives Congress (APC). My resignation is with immediate effect, which becomes necessary given my conviction that the atmosphere in the party is completely at variance with the founding vision of forming a progressive party”.

The party chieftain was the one-man riot squad that fought the former National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu and former National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, to a standstill.

THISDAY recalled that  Lukman had expressed strong reservations about the speculation that the APC governors and President Bola Tinubu were pushing for the immediate past Governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje, to emerge as the next party chairman following the resignation of Adamu.

Lukman was many things to different people in the ruling party. To some, he was too combative, while to others he was too confrontational. However, either you love him for what he believes in, or you hate him for what he stands for, you can’t ignore him. In the absence of the National Advisory Council (NAC) of APC, the organ which plays the role of Board of Trustees of the party, Lukman served as the conscience of the party.

Within his short stint in the NWC, the fear of Lukman is the beginning of wisdom. Adamu, Omisore, as well as former National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni who was at a time the Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee (CECPC) will not forget him in a hurry.

Born on December 18, 1962, Lukman is a development economist, policy analyst and political organiser. He holds Bachelors of Science (1989) and Masters of Science (2000) degrees in Economics, all from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Lukman’s activism did not start today, he was President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) 1988 – 89, National Secretary of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Lagos (1991), founding Deputy General Secretary of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), (1991 – 1994), and founding Deputy President of Democratic Alternative (1994 – 1998)

He was a Research Officer of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Kaduna between 1992 and 2000.

In 2000, he was seconded from the Textile Union to manage an EU-funded project on rebuilding the Nigerian Trade Union Movement.

In 2002, he became the Education Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He resigned from NLC in October 2006 and started a governance and organisational development consulting firm, People and Passion Consult Ltd, in Abuja.

In August 2009, he served as the Group Organising Secretary/CEO of Good Governance Group (3G), Abuja led by Senator Ken Nnamani, former Senate President; Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, former Speaker, House of Representatives and current Governor of Katsina State; Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i, former FCT Minister and ex-Governor of Kaduna State; and Malam Nuhu Ribadu, former Chairman of EFCC and current National Security Adviser to the President.

Between December 2009 and March 2010, following the leadership vacuum created by the mismanagement of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s illness, Lukman was among the group of 54 Nigerians that initiated the formation of Save Nigeria Group (SNG) and coordinated its activities in Abuja.

Also, in June 2010, he joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and emerged as the Senatorial Candidate for Kaduna North Senatorial District for the 2011 polls.

After the elections, he returned to People and Passion Consult Ltd and continued his governance and organisational development consultancy practice.

In addition to consultancy practice, he was also a member of the defunct ACN Strategy Committee, which reported to the National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.

In 2013, Lukman was appointed as the Director General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF). He held the position until 2022 when he turned in his resignation. He was elected as a member of the NWC in 2022.

While he was the director-general of PGF, Lukman had a series of battles with Oshiomhole, who was the APC chairman at the time. Lukman accused the former NLC president of turning other members of the NWC to observers and further accused him of destroying the Edo state chapter of the party.

Lukman also ensured that Buni didn’t escape his sledge hammer when he was the Caretaker chairman of the party. The committee led by Buni incurred the wrath of Lukman  when it became clear that the committee was seeking tenure elongation for the third time.

The Caretaker committee put in place to organise the national convention of the party within three months ended up spending close to two years before they were practically forced out.

Meanwhile, when the Adamu-led NWC assumed office in 2022, little did they know that Lukman would become a torn in their flesh. While other NWC members shiver and tremble before Adamu and dare not confront him, the activist cum politician damned the consequences and decided to challenge Adamu.

Trouble started when Lukman, in April, 2023 accused Adamu and Omisore of turning other members of the NWC  to rubber stamps. He alleged that the duo take all decisions bordering on managing the finances of the party without the knowledge of other NWC members.

The National Vice Chairman in a statement said the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the party had not been inaugurated more than a year after the Adamu-led NWC assumed office.

He followed up with a  recent interview on national television, where he accused Omisore of mismanaging Osun State governorship election campaign funds.

“Part of the issue with that is that I’m aware the party has given some campaign funds to Osun which was handled by the National Secretary but more importantly, he’s not accounting to anybody and you have to activate the process of accountability,” Lukman had said.

The party chieftain fired  another shot in a  letter dated April 5, 2023, where he gave one week ultimatum to Adamu to convene the NEC meeting wherein all the issues and development within the party will be discussed.

Expectedly, after the expiration of the one-week ultimatum, Lukman dragged the Adamu-led NWC  before an Abuja High Court over his refusal to convene NEC and national caucus meetings of the party.

At long last, on May 3, 2023, Adamu  summoned an emergency meeting of the NWC following a lawsuit instituted by Lukman against him and the National Secretary over their refusal to convene meetings of relevant party organs.

The crisis, however, got messier when the National Legal Adviser, Ahmad  El- Marzuq, recommended the expulsion of Lukman, in his letter to Adamu, for dragging the party to court.

Reacting to the expulsion threat, Lukman in a letter through his lawyers, Legal Resource Consortium (LRC), said the NWC of the party lacks the power to suspend him.

At the end of the day, the Kaduna born politician had a good laugh when both Adamu and Omisore were forced to resign their positions.

Nevertheless, the push for Ganduje to assume the position of the National Chairman of the party in acting capacity was viewed by Lukman as insensitive, unjust and unfair to the North Central.

“This is without prejudice to the person of Dr. Ganduje. This is because such a choice will completely distort the zoning arrangement that informed the present configuration of the leadership of the National Assembly. With the Speaker of House of Representatives and Deputy Senate President coming from North West and North Central shut out of consideration, to propose the party’s National Chairman to move to North West from North Central will be unjust and almost a political suicide,” he posited.

Although THISDAY checks revealed that the resignation of Lukman has not been accepted by the NWC of the party, it would be a miracle to see the comrade cum politician going back on his words.

While it is very difficult to have people see Lukman as a controversial figure, the likes of him are needed to serve as checks and balances to overbearing party leaders.