Salihu Lukman, former APC National Vice Chairman, has claimed there is no significant difference between the APC and the PDP in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics
Lukman expressed his disappointment, noting that the APC has not only failed to differentiate itself from the PDP but has, in some respects, become worse than the party it aimed to replace.
He criticized the PDP for becoming a one-man show where internal democracy was sidelined, and candidates were imposed on the electorate.
According to Lukman, this was a primary motivation for the formation of the APC, which sought to correct these anomalies.
“We were clear on the kind of party APC should be. We saw the weaknesses of the PDP, apart from the imposition of candidates, part of the problem was that elected candidates were not accountable to the party or anybody, and we thought building the APC would depart from that, and that was where the slogan ‘change’ came from,” Lukman stated.
Lukman lamented that the APC had deviated from its original vision, which included a focus on health, education, and social services as part of its social democratic agenda.
He traced part of the party’s issues to the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, describing the former president’s leadership style as akin to that of an emperor due to his dominant influence within the party.
The APC chieftain had hoped that the advent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration would bring about positive changes.
However, he expressed regret that conditions have deteriorated further. Lukman pointed out significant organizational failures within the APC, highlighting that some of the party’s key organs had not convened since its inception and that no meetings had taken place for over a year despite the party controlling the government.
“We are having a party where some of its organs have not been convened since its formation. We are having a party in which for one year no meeting has taken place and that party is controlling the government,” Lukman lamented.