Dr. Salihu Lukman, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), has stated that no one will be able to prevent him from exposing wrongdoing within the party. As a result, the crisis that has been roiling the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is not yet over.
Lukman, who is the APC National Vice Chairman for the North West, accused the party’s National Chairman and Secretary, Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore, of intimidating and bullying him because of his stance on the way the party is being administered. Lukman is the National Vice Chairman for the North West for the APC.
Contestation and disagreement are necessary characteristics of any progressive political party, he argued in an open letter to the leaders of the APC, which was published online.
The politician who was born in Kaduna dared Adamu and Omisore to kick him out of the party, despite the fact that he swore that he cannot be intimidated into compromising his position.
One of the things that he had a problem with was the fact that Adamu had refused to hand over the party’s financial records for the previous twelve months.
Since April 2022, we have been managing the party without an approved budget, which is contrary to the requirements of Article 13.3A(xiv) of the APC constitution. There was not a single report submitted to any organ, not even the NWC. Notwithstanding this, the NWC is required by Article 13.4(ii) and (iv) to provide the NEC with quarterly reports of activities and finances covering both income and expenditure.
“Based on the discretionary decisions of the National Chairman and the National Secretary, billions of Naira have been spent. To this day, no member of the NWC can claim to know how much money is in all of the party’s accounts, with the possible exception of Senators Adamu and Omisore, as well as possibly the National Treasurer and the National Financial Secretary,” he said.
In continuation, he made the following observation: “Sen. Adamu’s politics are, by every definition, conservative and reactionary. Unfortunately, however, based on all of the unfolding realities, he is a reckless conservative and reactionary politician who, if left unchecked, has the potential to pull the party in the direction of committing political suicide. If this politician is allowed to continue in his current position, he will continue to act in this manner. It is imperative that all leaders and members of the APC come to terms with this reality and work together to thwart Senator Adamu’s efforts to self-destruct the party.
Both Adamu and Omisore, according to all of the reports that are available, appeared to be excited about the fact that I have resumed my public advocacy on the need to save the APC and ensure that the party structures are given life in accordance with the provisions of the APC constitution.
Yes, I have resumed my public advocacy efforts due to the fact that all of the structures that ought to have been able to host internal debates are currently being prevented from doing so. As a party that was established with the goal of becoming a progressive party, the APC is obligated to make room for debates and contestations.
“No one, regardless of how highly placed, should believe that bullying and blackmailing opponents is the best way to win debates and contestation because it is not the best way to win. The campaign to restore constitutional order within the APC will not be deterred by any amount of intimidation.
