A former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has leveled serious accusations against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, likening his governance style to that of a “military dictator.”
Lukman, who served as the national vice chairman (North West) of the APC, expressed his concerns over the president’s approach to managing government affairs and the potential risks it poses to the party’s future.
In his statement released on Saturday, Lukman accused President Tinubu of sidelining the party’s structures and adopting an autocratic stance, suggesting that the president believes he possesses all the solutions to Nigeria’s myriad of problems.
This approach, according to Lukman, is causing significant harm to the political landscape and undermining the democratic principles on which the APC was founded.
Highlighting the pressing security and socio-economic challenges facing the country, Lukman warned that these issues could jeopardize President Tinubu’s chances of securing a second term and potentially lead to the APC’s downfall in the 2027 elections.
He pointed out that the prevailing levels of poverty, insecurity, hunger, and the soaring cost of goods and services are indicative of the APC and its leadership’s failure to uphold their promises to the Nigerian people.
Furthermore, Lukman criticized both former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Tinubu for deviating from the party’s core values and manifesto.
He argued that the hardships inflicted on Nigerians since the APC’s merger in 2013 stand in stark contrast to the party’s initial objectives and pledges.
According to Lukman, the current administration’s policies and governance approach have not only failed to address the country’s critical issues but have also exacerbated the suffering of the populace.
Lukman said, “What Nigerians are having today wasn’t what was promised at all. The most disturbing reality is that the current economic hardship is 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 second term? Certainly not.
“If he is interested in 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 second term by other means and not votes of electorate, there can not be any logical reasoning. Could that be the reason for the newfound love with some identified political merceneries who were strongly opposed to the election of President Asiwaju Tinubu? How successful could they be?
“If military governments with all their recruited merceneries could fail to guarantee their survival how could anyone imagine that merceneries could win second term for the President Asiwaju?”
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 election and become Presidents of Nigeria.
He added, “Once they achieved that, any other thing with respect to 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.”
