Former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday, urged President Bola Tinubu to look beyond the presidential villa for feedback on the performance of his administration.
He also charged the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, not to fail in his duty to tell the President the truth at all times.
Fayemi said it was often difficult for occupiers of the presidential villa and other public holders to know the true feelings of Nigerians because they were often surrounded by praise singers.
The Ekiti politician spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of a book titled, ‘APC and Transition Politics’ written by a former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the APC, Mallam Salihu Lukman.
Fayemi said, “The party leader should be the one to tell our President this is the feedback from the communities and constituencies out there. Not what he is hearing in the villa where he is locked out.
“All of us who hold public offices know how it can be. This book should be a compulsory read for members of the National Working Committee at the national, state, local government, and ward levels so that we can begin the rebuilding process of this organic party.”
Fayemi described Lukman as one of the most misunderstood party members, saying such political characters were needed in every progressive platform to act as the conscience of the party.
He said, “Lukman is older than me if you want to go by age. He was an irrepressible radical when we were in the Student Union Movement. He is an individual of his own conviction. As a matter of fact, he criticises El-Rufai and I, more than you, know because he feels that we are too quiet and we don’t fight the way we should fight. Some of us who are closer to Lukman are always at the receiving end when he writes. Every progressive party always has people like him and the only way to give credit to such people is to continue to regard them as the conscience of our party.
“I remember in his days as the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, every time he wrote his long diatribe, former Kano Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje can bear me witness, I got accused by colleagues as the architect who brought Lukman into the forum. It got to a point where the governors insisted they had enough and said it was either Lukman resign as Director General of the PGF or they quit being members of the forum.
“Eventually we agreed collectively that we must work on an exit strategy and when he was informed, two of us were directed to undertake the assignment. I believe former Governor Nasir El-Rufai was also often blamed and called Lukman’s promoter at a point. So when you see him write as he does, the impression is that this man is out to destroy, denigrate, find fault for the sake of finding fault and to bring down anything he perceived was not good. The truth as many of us know is that he is precisely the opposite. If Lukman is after personal aggrandisement, he could have any position even under President Goodluck Jonathan. But it is clear that it has always been about (progressive) party building for him.”
The event attracted prominent political leaders such as former APC national chairmen, Adams Oshiomhole and Chief Bisi Akande; current helmsman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje; the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru; representative of former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; ex-Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Sharon Ikeazor; former presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, among others.
Reacting to Fayemi’s gesture, Lukman appreciated the huge turnout of participants at the launch despite the wrong impression many party members had about him.
He said, “One of the driving forces for me was basically to stimulate discussion within the party and hopefully get the party leaders to own it and maybe mainstream it into the structures of the party. One of the things we were perhaps afraid of when planning the event was a situation where we ended up talking to ourselves. This indeed reflected a lot in the presentations here, keeping the kind of image I know I have acquired for myself.
“That His Excellency, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is now the National Chairman including all that Comrade Adams Oshiomole has reflected on, even after all I have canvassed publicly, is a clear demonstration of the fact that this party had a clear future. What is required is to try and give critical support to all our leaders so that they can revive all the structures of the party.”
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