Former National Vice Chairman in the North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Moh Lukman, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other party leaders to revisit issues surrounding their disagreement between two former governors of Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Lukman in a statement released to newsmen Tuesday in Abuja, warned that on no account should APC leaders limit the engagement of issues surrounding all the political challenges facing APC as a party to only the issue of bribery allegation against Dr. Ganduje.
According to Lukman, President Asiwaju Tinubu and APC leaders must consider this as an opportunity of renewing the APC in Kano State and by extension North West and the entire North.
He said: “Being progressives require honesty, which given current political reality we must accept that Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his NNPP has stronger support base in Kano State. Noting that Sen. Kwankwaso was in our party up to 2018; and acknowledging that between 1999 and 2019 both Sen. Kwankwaso and Dr. Ganduje worked together, we need to revisit issues surrounding their disagreement. On no account should APC leaders limit the engagement of issues surrounding all the political challenges facing us as a party to only the issue of bribery allegation against Dr. Ganduje.
“If this means another round of negotiation for political alliance or merger with Sen. Kwankwaso and NNPP, our leaders should proceed to act accordingly. President Asiwaju Tinubu and APC must take the full advantage of the current reality to renegotiate the support base of the APC. Renegotiating the support base of the APC should also be about reigniting the progressive credentials of the APC.
It is very painfully disturbing that unless this kind of opportunity is utilised to the fullest, based on which new actors such as Dr. Kwankwaso with strong commitment to democracy based on principles are recruited into our party, the downward slide and retrogression towards conservatism and lawless management of the APC will continue.”
On the corruption allegation against the APC National Chairman, the former Director General of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) said: “Without doubt, this situation presents an opportunity for President Asiwaju Tinubu to demonstrate his progressive and political dexterity. It is a low hanging fruit, which, if properly managed could also save the politics of Dr. Ganduje. The hard truth is that, somehow, the politics of Kano State was mismanaged and as it is, if we were unable to win election in Kano State when we were in control of Kano State Government, it will be foolhardy to imagine otherwise.
“APC leaders must be reminded that one of promises in 2015 based on which Nigerians supported us and gave us the mandate to rule the country for the last nine years was the commitment to fight corruption. If there is any instance requiring us, as a party, to renew our commitment to fighting corruption, this is it. We must appeal to especially President Asiwaju Tinubu and all APC leaders not to consent to any action other than supporting Dr. Ganduje to take advantage of the current reality to clear his name.
While calling on the President to correct the imbalance, Lukman described such as unfortunate.
“Perhaps, we need to also appeal to President Asiwaju Tinubu to also use this as an opportunity to correct the political imbalance in the leadership of the country by returning the North Central into the mainstream leadership of the country.
“It was quite unfortunate that the imbalance was allowed to happen. Certainly, the objective couldn’t have been to marginalise the people of North Central from the political leadership of Nigeria. I am confident that President Asiwaju Tinubu and APC leaders will do the needful to renew APC and return APC to its founding vision of progressive politics.”
