Salihu Lukman
Salihu Lukman, a former national vice chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has dumped the party.
Lukman, who has been critical of the affairs and policies of the APC in recent times, announced in a statement on Wednesday that his membership of the APC has become useless.
The former Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), in a statement titled: “APC and The Future of Nigerian Democracy: Letter to Selected APC Leaders,” said he is going back to the trenches ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He accused President Bola Tinubu and other party leaders of refusing to allow internal reforms in the APC.
The former APC National Working Committee (NWC) member, however, refused to disclose his next political party.
He said: “Given all this, it is possible to remain in APC if at all President Tinubu will allow internal reform in the party to return it to its founding vision, which as it is, is very remote. But my reality now in the party is that my membership has been rendered useless and there is no need for me to continue to impose myself.
“I have therefore gone back to the trenches and will try to work with all committed Nigerians who agree and subscribe to the goal of actively campaigning for the survival and development of democracy in Nigeria.
“We must grow our democracy to the point whereby elected representatives at all levels are accountable to the party and it is possible for Nigerians represented by various interests to develop strong relationship with political parties and elected governments based on which policies of governments can be made to reflect wider interests of Nigerians.
“I am confident that a strong democracy with functional political parties is possible in Nigeria. I am also confident that in our lifetime we can produce governments that are truly capable of making the lives of Nigerians better. I don’t expect party leaders will agree with my decision. I believe that eventually, we will be united will all party leaders and other Nigerians who are committed to developing Nigerian democracy.”
