Provide Evidence that APC, PDP Have Failed Nigerians, Jega Told

Adedayo Akinwale

The Director, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr. Salihu Lukman has challenged the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, to provide evidence that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) have failed Nigerians.

Jega in a recent interview claimed that both the PDP and APC have failed Nigerians who not to ‘give their trust to the parties again.’

But, Lukman in a statement that was issued yesterday and titled, “Nigerian Politics and Fallacy of PDP–APC Semblance (Part one),” said that the view credited to Jega should not be taken lightly, considering the fact that he is not only a respected political scientist, but also a theoretician and practitioner whose commitment to Nigeria’s development cannot be faulted.

He stressed that the responses from the the PDP through its Spokesperson, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan and the National Secretary of APC, Sen. James Akpanudoedehe, failed to disprove Jega’s declaration that the PDP and the APC have failed Nigerians.

Lukman stated: “What exactly is the evidence that made Professor Jega arrive at such a conclusion? So far, from the BBC interview, Prof. Jega did not present any specific validation of his conclusion. Both listening and reading the script of the interview, one is tempted to conclude that Prof. Jega spoke more as a politician in that interview than the thorough scholar he is.”

He said that Jega should be able to engage politics based on facts and not just opinion, adding that once he deviated from that and orientated his politics based on opinions, it would be difficult, if not impossible for him to be different from the mainstream Nigerian politicians.

According to Lukman, this would simply mean that partisan politics would erode his moral authority and devalue his personality.

The director general expressed worry about how the PDP and the APC contemptuously dismissed Jega’s statement with the PDP questioning his credential as a professor of political science, saying it was one of the dangers of the Nigerian brand of one-dimensional politics.

Lukman said: “Recall how sadly under the immediate past leadership of the APC, a particular person was disqualified from emerging as a candidate of the party for election based on false allegation that his academic qualification was forged. Even when the Registrar of the institution made a public statement confirming that the person graduated from that institution, the APC leadership went ahead to disqualify the person.

“This being the case, Prof. Jega the politician risked being different from Prof. Jega the scholar. If Nigerian partisan politics is to benefit at all from Prof. Jega’s wealth of knowledge and experience, Prof. Jega the politician should be the same person as Prof. Jega the thorough scholar, theoretician, and practitioner of evidence-based politics. Being a member of the PRP, his contribution towards the development of the PRP should be evidence-based so that he is able to apply his knowledge and experience in politics.”

Lukman, who highlighted various achievements of the APC, especially in the areas of social investment, infrastructure and agriculture, insisted that unlike the PDP, the APC led government is not a failure.