TheCable

Salihu Lukman, director-general of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), says the All Progressives Congress (APC) must handle negotiations for leadership positions in the 2023 general election carefully.

In a statement on Sunday, Lukman noted that building consensus in producing a candidate at whatever level has been a challenge for political parties.

The director-general said beyond which region produces the next president, how the country will develop should also be of utmost concern.

“For those of us in APC, the process of re-organisation going on in the party presents an advantage. For instance, it should be possible to commence a campaign to review provisions of the APC manifesto to strengthen political initiatives for national unity,” he said.

“Will political leaders from all the six geo-political regions commit themselves to implementing agreements that can strengthen the bonds of unity among citizens from the six geo-political regions?

“What could be the details of such agreements? And to what extent could the agreements meet the expectations of citizens from all the six geo-political regions?

“Beyond which region produces the successor to President Buhari, what will be the commitment of the post-2023 Nigerian President to the specific agenda of regional developments of both the region he/she comes from and the other five regions?

“The reality of our contemporary development as a nation in this Fourth Republic, since 1999, is that during the sixteen years of PDP tenure, processes of respecting political agreements within the PDP have been mismanaged and undermined.

“With the emergence of our party, APC, in 2013, our leaders were able to skillfully handle negotiations for leadership based on strategic consideration of winning the votes of Nigerians.

“APC leaders must return to that 2013 mode and handle leadership negotiations for 2023 very carefully and skillfully. APC should continue to work towards setting the right standards for Nigerian politics, which should prioritise national unity.”

Lukman added that every citizen must make sacrifices for the country to develop.