Ex-APC NWC Member, Lukman Quits, Says Ruling Party Can’t Win 2027 Polls

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

A former National Vice Chairman, North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman has resigned his membership of the  party.

Lukman said his decision to quit the ruling party was because President Bola Tinubu was not ready to allow internal reforms in the party to return it to its founding vision.

To this end, Lukman said his  membership of the party  had been rendered useless and there was no need for him to continue to impose himself.

Lukman in a letter to selected party leaders titled: ‘‘APC and The Future of Nigerian Democracy’’, made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday, decried Tinubu’s intolerance to criticisms and anti-people policies which he said were completely contradictory to his campaign document, ‘Renewed Hope’.

The former director general of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) lamented that Tinubu had become inaccessible to many party leaders.

He noted: “The policies of his government are clearly anti-people and completely contradictory to even his campaign document ‘Renewed Hope’. Sadly, the way things are, there is a prevailing atmosphere of being intolerant to criticism.

“From all indications, even high-ranking members of his cabinet have limited access to him. Consequently, here we are with a government, which is supposedly ours but treating us as recluses, if not enemies. We are anything but stakeholders

“Given all these, it is possible to remain in APC if at all President Bola Tinubu will allow internal reform in the party to return it to its founding vision, which as it is, is very remote. But my reality now in the party is that my membership has been rendered useless and there is no need for me to continue to impose myself.

“It doesn’t require any investigation, at this rate, there is no way we can win elections except through rigging. The popular saying in the country now is that Tinubu is a one-term president. The hard truth is that the country will be lucky to get to 2027 without witnessing upheavals.”

Lukman added that the pain of admitting it was beyond description, stressing that Tinubu reduced them to what he described as the despicable reality.

According to him, It is far more painful, given that party leaders had been cowed to silence. “No one wants to take the risk of being on the wrong side of the president. I have spent the last one year advocating for internal reform,” he said.