Edo, Ondo Guber: APC Appears Determined to Meet Rivers, Zamfara Fate Again, DG PGF Laments

The Director-General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr. Salihu Lukman, has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears more determined to reproduce the painful past experiences in Rivers, Zamfara and Bayelsa States, following the recent disqualification of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, from the state governorship primary. Lukman in a statement issued on Tuesday said it was very difficult and challenging to come to terms with the unfolding development in APC. He noted that the disconcerting reality of becoming clobbered into another undemocratic political platform, which is intolerant to basic tenets of free and fair contest, was hard to admit. The DG stressed that anyone with small residue of conscience and integrity must have been jolted by what is going on in the ruling party. He said while it might be easy to pass judgement on the leaders of the party, party members must however recognise that the failings or limitations of the leaders are equally that of the members. According to Lukman, "Without any attempt to qualify electoral experiences since 2019, every member and leader of APC should be troubled. Being troubled should have spurred us into some sober reflections with the objective of remedying the situation. Unfortunately, it would appear that we are more determined to reproduce all the painful experiences, every time we are faced with electoral contests. It was Rivers, Zamfara and Bayelsa States. Now Edo and Ondo States are basically on a roller costar with perhaps emerging with the same predictable outcome that consumed our electoral victories in Zamfara and Bayelsa States. Why should this be allowed to happen?" He stressed that it was unfortunate that the ruling party found itself in this ‘stagnant political water of brazen acts of imposition of candidates’ through some applications of crude technicalities by the leadership of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. The DG recalled that the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, while contesting for the seat in 2018, promising to make the party register available to any member of the party who desires it. Lukman said: "I challenge Oshiomhole to publish APC’s membership register for every state of the country. No one should push us into debate about modes of internal party elections without producing the register of voters. It is like getting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections without displaying voters register. It will be criminal, and it will undermine every known democratic principle. "We must rise to the challenge of engaging our leaders to rescue our party, APC, from the hands of leaders who are intolerant. That was the incentive, which guided the process leading to the emergence of APC. No one, no matter his/her position, should take Nigerians for a ride. Whether in APC or out of APC, nobody should imagine that party members don’t matter. "It is clear that APC leadership as currently constituted under the leadership of Oshiomhole is imprudent and cannot be entrusted with the task of leading the party. Oshiomhole’s NWC has hawked the soul of the party to political buccaneers, whose narrow interest is just about unfairly winning elections. “Party members must wake up and face the arduous task of reclaiming the leadership of the party. Such a task must be about ensuring the emergence of honest leadership for the party-a leadership that should be able to allow free application of provisions of the APC constitution."