Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
A former member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of managing the government affairs like a military dictator by allegedly shutting down the structures of the party and acting like a king with absolute knowledge of solutions to the problems facing Nigerians.
Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman (North-west) of the APC, said the current security and socio-economic challenges bedeviling the country are a threat to Tinubu’s second term, and capable of closing the party’s “shop” in 2027 if not quickly addressed.
The APC chieftain in a statement yesterday argued that the level of poverty, insecurity, hunger, and high cost of goods and services in the country showed that APC and its leaders had shortchanged Nigerians.
He said both former President Muhammadu Buhari and incumbent President Tinubu had rubbished the essence of the merger in 2013, and the APC manifesto by inflicting pains on Nigerians.
“What Nigerians are having today wasn’t what was promised at all. The most disturbing reality is that the current economic hardship was produced during the first term of President Asiwaju Tinubu, with no end in sight. Does it then mean that President Asiwaju Tinubu is not interested in the second term? Certainly not.
“If he is interested in the second term, why is he managing affairs of government like a military dictator, shutting down the structures of the party, and talking down to citizens like a philosopher king who has absolute knowledge of what will produce possible happiness for citizens?
“Unless the objective is to secure a second term by other means and not votes of the electorate, there can not be any logical reasoning. Could that be the reason for the newfound love of some identified political mercenaries who were strongly opposed to the election of President Asiwaju Tinubu? How successful could they be?
“If military governments with all their recruited mercenaries could fail to guarantee their survival how could anyone imagine that mercenaries could win a second term for President Asiwaju?” He queried.
Lukman said one of the arguments being canvassed by many disappointed APC members was that both former President Buhari and Tinubu just wanted to win the election and become Presidents of Nigeria.
“Once they achieved that, any other thing concerning good government and policy orientation is hardly a priority. Impliedly, this means that the whole merger exercise producing the APC was a deception. Rightly or wrongly, many APC leaders and members have come to accept this explanation as the main objective for the merger,” he added.
