Lukman: El-Rufai Should Have Allowed Us Join SDP As Group Based on Ongoing Negotiations
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
A former National Vice-Chairman North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman, has said that the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, should have been a bit patient before defecting to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), adding that they could have joined the party as a group based on the ongoing negotiation.
Lukman made this known on Monday while reacting to the news about the defection of El-Rufai to SDP.
He said: “I am close to Mallam El-Rufai to the extent that we come from the same state and were in the same party. And I had the privilege of being nominated by him to serve in the National Working Committee of APC.
“Of course, as everybody knows, we have our own disagreements. But one of the clear cases is the fact that the issue of whether Mallam is going to remain in APC or not is a foretold story.”
Lukman noted that El-Rufai’s defection was expected after the interview he granted ARISE TV.
His words: “You can see the handwriting. But whether it is going to come so soon is what even I couldn’t have said.
“My expectation was that he should have been a bit patient for us to walk out as a group based on the current negotiation that is ongoing.
“But he knows better and I do hope his decision is not going to become like a kind of breakaway from whatever we are doing. My hope is that at the end, we should be able to reconcile and work together under one platform.”
Lukman stressed that discussion about joining SDP has been ongoing for a while, noting that the question is whether SDP would submit itself to some conditions they believe are necessary.
According to him, “I think the discussion about whether SDP will be there or not has been an ongoing thing. The challenge is a question of whether SDP will submit itself to some of the conditions that we believe are necessary.”
When asked about the conditions, Lukman said: “Frankly speaking, unlike most conventional politicians, most conventional politicians who just want a platform where they will present candidates and use it to win elections, there are a few of us who believe the issue is beyond that.
“What Nigerians need is a platform that will promote political competition in the country. If you remember, the problem Nigerians had with PDP is the problem of imposition of candidates. And when the APC came and promised ‘Change’, the expectation of Nigerians is that we will change the culture of imposition.
“Unfortunately, we have failed in that. In fact, it has become worse. If things continue as they are, you can predict that President Asiwaju will become the candidate of APC, and you can predict all the first-time governors of APC will emerge as the candidate of APC, whether they are popular in their states or not.
“You can also predict all legislators at federal and state levels, whether they have performed or not. So long as they are in the good books of Asiwaju and the party leadership, they will be returned.”
Asked if he would also be joining SDP, Likman noted: “Only if SDP meets the conditions we have set, which I have highlighted. At the moment, they have not. We are in discussion, no doubt about it. If they meet it tomorrow, fine.”
