TheCable

Salihu Lukman, director-general of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, says David Umahi, Ebonyi governor, is an asset to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Last week, Umahi confirmed his defection to the APC from the PDP.

The governor said he left the PDP because of “injustice”, alleging that the party has refused to zone the 2023 presidency to the south-east.

Speaking with journalists at the weekend, Lukman said having Umahi in the APC “is a major achievement”.

According to him, the coming of the governor to the party will lead to an “electoral tsunami” for the APC in the south-east.

“That APC is powerful to the extent that we are able to influence the decision of a nationalistic, progressive-minded, credible and leading political leader such as Governor Umahi, is a tsunami,” he said.

“And there is more. It is a major achievement for our party to win over such a strategic political asset who sees the party as a viable platform to canvass his politics as a leader of his people.

“They cannot run away from the fact that the coming of Umahi into APC is the beginning of an electoral tsunami for our party in the south-east.

“The challenge and this is the point that stares us in Nigeria, we need to change and raise our competitive edge because presently we are not competing enough we end up competing for the wrong thing.”

The DG said the PDP lost Umahi in a “very cheap manner”.

“The PDP had Umahi as their governor, why should they allow themselves to lose him in such a cheap manner,” he said.

“It’s a pure management issue. In APC too, we have also had similar problems out of our own recklessness as a party that we lost governors in Benue, Kwara, Sokoto, name it.”

Lukman said the APC has learnt its lessons and that it is taking steps to manage the affairs of the party in a better way.