The All Progressives Congress (APC) has responded to remarks made by Salihu Mohammed Lukman, a former national vice-chairman (North West) of the party, who claimed that APC's nine years in power have been worse than the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) 16-year reign.
Lukman criticised both former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing them of failing to meet the expectations of Nigerians and deliver on their promises.
In a statement titled "Building Nigerian Democracy," Lukman lamented the state of governance under the APC, asserting that the party had failed to address critical issues facing the country, including insecurity, economic hardship, and corruption.
He suggested that the APC had not lived up to the expectations it set when it unseated the PDP in 2015, a move that ended the latter's 16-year dominance.
Lukman also expressed frustration with the disunity among opposition leaders, which he said was giving President Tinubu the freedom to run the country unchallenged. He argued that opposition leaders had failed to unite to offer a credible alternative to the APC ahead of the 2027 elections, instead prioritising their personal political ambitions.
"We have become worse than the PDP we defeated in 2015," Lukman stated.
He criticised the APC for undermining opposition parties and creating an environment where opposition voices were either suppressed or manipulated into deeper crises. According to him, under the PDP, opposition parties were allowed to function more freely.
Lukman went further, suggesting that both Buhari and Tinubu had betrayed the trust Nigerians placed in them.
"The hard truth is that both former President Buhari and President Asiwaju Tinubu have turned out to be self-centred and unable to produce the leadership needed to pull the country out of its current challenges," he said.
He pointed out that the party had campaigned in 2015 on three cardinal issues: security, economic stability, and the fight against corruption. However, he argued, these issues have only worsened under APC's watch, with Nigerians facing heightened insecurity, rampant poverty, and a declining economy.
But responding, APC's Director of Publicity, Alhaji Bala Ibrahim, defended the party's performance and questioned Lukman's motives.
Ibrahim noted that Lukman had been a key figure in the party's leadership and policy formulation for much of the nine years he criticised. He suggested that Lukman's comments were disingenuous, given his active role in the party during the period he now condemns.
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"I hold Lukman in high esteem, but if this is how he feels, he needs to re-evaluate his conscience.
"He was part and parcel of the policy formulation process within the party, and if the APC has failed, then Lukman is indirectly admitting his own failure, because he was a part of the decision-making machinery," Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim continued, "If the nine years of APC governance have been a failure, as Lukman claims, then he must also accept responsibility for that failure. After all, he was a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) and played a role in advising on policies and programmes."
Meanwhile, the APC's National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, hinted that the party would provide a more detailed response to Lukman's claims. "He (Lukman) will hear from me tomorrow (today)," Morka said, suggesting that the APC leadership does not take the accusations lightly.
The presidency was, however, silent when one of our correspondents reached out for reactions. Phone calls and messages to Bayo Onanuga, the president's special adviser on information and strategy, were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
