TheCable

Salihu Lukman, a former vice-chair of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the ruling party is creating “conditions” for its own “electoral funeral”.

In a statement on Sunday, Lukman said APC leaders must be reminded that the party would be prone to electoral defeat if they do not adhere to calls for leadership change.

The former vice-chair said it was the refusal to listen to internal voices that led to the formation of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) in 2013.

“Painfully, in the process, a party that emerged with so much promise, APC, winning the support of Nigerians is almost destroyed and on a daily basis creating conditions for its own electoral funeral,” he said.

“As loyal members of the APC, we must remind our leaders that parties become more prone to electoral defeat when they resist or block internal pressures for leadership change.

“APC’s electoral victory in 2015, for instance, could be partly explained based on the refusal of PDP leadership to recognise and respect the yearnings of party members and leaders.

“It was the inability to respect internal yearnings for change that produced the splinter group of New PDP, which eventually joined the merger that produced APC in 2013.”

He said the likes of President Bola Tinubu and Adams Oshiomhole, who fought for democracy in the 90s, should ensure that Nigeria’s political parties are truly democratic.

“Being leaders of APC, APC must emerge as a distinctly democratic party based on abiding respect for rule of law, which should be well reflected in a strong commitment to manage affairs of the party based on compliance with provisions of the APC,” he said.

“Anything short of this, will diminish the credentials of our leaders, including President Asiwaju Tinubu and Comrade Oshiomhole.”