Nigerians may kick out APC in 2027, says party chieftain

A former Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (North-West), Salihu Lukman, on Wednesday, admitted that Nigerians are faced with more challenges and that the party risks being kicked out of government in 2027 if things continue this way.

Lukman spoke at a press conference in Abuja ahead of the public presentation of his new book, ‘APC and Transition Politics’ slated for Tuesday, December 19.

The APC chieftain said, “I think we must be honest. Now, our democracy is not responsive enough. I’m worried that our leaders have become very comfortable with imagining that they can do anything and get away with it.

“We must appeal to our leaders that things are almost getting out of hand at the rate at which we are going under a party that is envisioned to be progressive.

“We are likely going to start witnessing rebellion and if care is not taken by 2027, we will be kicked out of office, which means taking Nigeria back to where it was in 2015. I think we owe our leader the responsibility or President Asiwaju the responsibility to tell him the truth.

“My deduction so far, without any reservation, is that we have not made much progress. We need to open up and engage our leaders in such a way that they don’t relapse to the old ways of remaining in denial simply because we have won the election.

“It is very clear, and also not a secret, that Nigerians are faced with more challenges. Life is becoming more difficult for them. I keep saying we’re very lucky to have President Asiwaju as an aspirant. If we didn’t have somebody with his weight, I’m not sure we would succeed in repelling the attempt to impose a candidate.”

Lukman his resignation from the party’s National Working Committee was a painful decision.

While describing his decision to quit as a difficult moment in his life, the APC chieftain also dismissed the notion that he was forced out of the system shortly before the emergence of the current national Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.

He added, “When I decided to resign from the NWC, it was a very painful thing to do, I must say. It was not as if I enjoyed it. It was a very difficult decision to take. Having taken the decision, I made up my mind that I’m going to find time to document our experiences with the struggle under the transition that brought President Asiwaju Tinubu.

“Of course, I was conscious of the fact that there were some people who were busy arguing with the leadership of the party that I rebelled against the leadership of President Asiwaju.

“I didn’t rebel against the leadership of President Asiwaju. All I thought as a person is that we owe the president the duty of telling him the truth, no matter what. And which was what I did.”

Punch