Johnchuks Onuanyim …Alleges Nat’l Chair has over 270 aides
Former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman North West, Salihu Lukman has carpeted the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, quipping that his leadership of the party has brought embarrassment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Lukman, who stated this in a statement he titled: “Wither Nigerian Democracy: Urgency of Rebuilding Political Parties,” also alleged that Ganduje has over 270 aides most of them from Kano State.
It would be recalled that the New Telegraph had reported recently of the allegation against Ganduje’s aides swindling the National Working Committee (NWC) members.
Lukman decrying the state of leadership in APC, said it was unimaginable that Ganduje could become the National Chairman of the party.
Taking a look at what APC should represent as a political party, he said, “Coming from the background of opposition to military rule, with all the attendant risk, it is very difficult to reconcile how under a democracy Nigerian politicians are being subdued.
Otherwise, how can anyone explain the emergence of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the National Chairman of APC? I wish Dr Ganduje had proven some of us wrong by demonstrating the capacity and competence to lead the APC.
Sadly, instead, with all that has happened since his emergence, he has proved almost all our criticism right. He has in every respect betrayed the confidence of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and in many respects put the President in a very difficult embarrassing position.
Painfully, all the challenges facing the party before his emergence have gotten worse. Hardly, has he taken any initiative to resolve challenges facing the party.
Instead, he uses the opportunity of being the National Chairman to restore lost privileges, having lost the elections in Kano State. For instance, one of the things he did once he emerged as the National Chairman was to appoint more than 270 aides, most of them from Kano State. Basically bringing all the people he worked with when he was Governor of Kano State to the APC National Secretariat.
“Allegations of corruption in the APC under the leadership of Dr. Ganduje are becoming stronger. With hardly clearly defined funding framework, issues of lack of transparent financial management and diversion of resources in APC find expression in the open media.
“How can a party that has made so much history, emerging with so many high expectations, be reduced to rubble and against the grain of almost everything it has promised?
“How can the first party in Nigeria to emerge following a successful merger negotiation of opposition parties, and the first to defeat a ruling party, be the one being alleged to have dashed the expectations of citizens in ways that dismissed all that has been achieved to individual ambitions of leaders?
“It is quite worrisome that political realities under the APC since 2015 are being equated to situations under PDP between 1999 and 2015.
“This is simply suggestive of a wide gap between what was promised and what is being delivered. Arguably, we could contest this, but given the reality of insecurity in the country, for instance, which was one of our major campaign promises in 2015, we need to admit the existence of this gap.”
Also, writing about the failure of APC and its leadership, Lukman said, “Perhaps, a major issue, which must be recognised is that the existence of a gap between what was promised and what is being delivered is not on account of failure to initiate actions in line with what was promised.
“Certainly, actions were initiated. But combinations of the slow phase of initiatives, often not in line with specifications provided in the APC manifesto and poor or weak relationships with citizens are responsible for the existence of such gaps. Ideally, being a party envisioned to be progressive, it should be expected that APC will take steps to strengthen its relationship with citizens.
“Developing strong relationships with citizens should take bearing from having stronger relations with party members. For a party to have stronger relations with members presupposes the existence of functional party structures, based on which meetings take place regularly.
“These were some of the expected changes APC promised, which would have earned it the desirable progressive credentials. Arguably, rather than expanding the democratic space in Nigerian politics, Nigerian democracy is being contracted.
“As a result, the capacity of party members to influence the decisions of elected representatives, across all Nigerian parties, is almost zero. Both at the National and State levels, governments have been unable to meet the expectations of both party members and Nigerians. Increasingly, this is weakening the support base of political parties.
“The danger this poses is that out of frustration, Nigerians could support any opposition candidate and party to defeat a ruling party with hardly any prospect of changing existing reality. Very worrisome also is the fact that elected leaders, including President Asiwaju Tinubu, are in denial of this danger or believe that they can surmount it without resolving the problem of imposition of candidates and discretionary decisions of the National Chairman, which undermines internal party democracy.”
Moving APC forward, he said, “President Asiwaju Tinubu and APC leaders must prevent the situation whereby another National Chairman will emerge with all the high possibility of betraying expectations based on business-as-usual practices.
Avoiding that would require a complete overhaul and the emergence of new party leaders, at least at the national level. For new leaders at the national level to emerge with the needed prospect of resolving the challenges facing the APC, there is the need to change the formula of nominating party leaders. What exists now confers a monopoly of nominating party leaders to Governors.
Without prejudice to our Governors, there is the need to go beyond Governors in nominating new party leaders at the national level. This is where the National Caucus of the party can become helpful. It is possible to use the platform of the National Caucus as the clearing house for prospective leaders of the party given that all Governors and former Governors are also members of the National Caucus.
“Beyond electing new leaders, the whole issue of activating all party structures and making them functional in line with provisions of the APC Constitution must be guaranteed.
Once APC, being the ruling party, can operate based on the provisions of its constitution can be guaranteed, the campaign to reform Nigerian politics and expand democratic space will be made much easier.
If organs of the party are meeting regularly, problems of the impositions of candidates will be minimised. In any case, issues leading to the imposition of candidates are made possible and stronger because the organs of the party vested with the responsibility of decisions regarding party primary are undermined.
Consequently, party stakeholders who should have a say in decisions that can guarantee free and fair primary are marginalised. As much as party organs are meeting as prescribed by the party Constitution, incidences of imposition will be minimised.
“It is my wish that APC leaders, especially President Asiwaju Tinubu will consider these proposals in responding to challenges facing the APC. Being a member of APC, even as an outcast, I strongly believe that reforming the APC by producing new party leaders, making all organs of the party functional, resolving challenges of party funding, operating an Annual National Budget of more than N100 Billion and benchmarking conditions of service of party leaders at all levels with public service conditions, combined, would deepen Nigerian democracy, return APC to its founding vision of emerging as a progressive party.
Achieving this when the next general election is more than three years away, would confer stronger electoral advantages to the APC. For other parties, to effectively compete against the APC, they will need to be equally reformist and not conformist.
