APC chieftain, Lukman commends PDP over successful convention

*party interested on coming back to continue it’s extravagant style of governance

Tom Okpe, Abuja

Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and Director General, Progressives Governors’ Forum, (PGF) has commended the major opposition party, People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) on it’s successful national convention held on Saturday, 30 October, 2021.

Lukman said credit must be given to leaders and members of the party for being able to manage the process and elect a new leadership.

PDP at the weekend held a National Convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja where it elected new leadership with a former Nigerian Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman of the the party.

He also said if anything, PDP is only interested in getting back to power to continue its extravagant style of governance , which converted public treasury to private accounts of elected, and appointed leaders.

In a statement on Monday titled, ‘Opposition Politics and Campaign for New Nigeria”
Lukman said those who are not members of the party should urge the newly elected PDP leaders to build on the new atmosphere, starting a new beginning for the party based on honesty, respect for one another and above all recognizing that politics is all about negotiations and agreement.

He however, said given the important role the party has played in orienting politics in Nigeria for 16 years between 1999 and 2015, during which Nigeria politics was made to be opposed to negotiations, it is important to acknowledge that the October 30, PDP National Convention is about the first time, since 1999 perhaps, that there is some semblance of negotiations to produce leaders of the party.

“Whether in the end, the new leaders will be allowed by the power blocs within the PDP to facilitate negotiations, is completely a different matter. By the way, the fact that the party can elect a young person, below 30 years as National Youth Leader means that PDP leaders have recognized that the old culture of arrogance and impunity must be avoided if they are to win the support of Nigerians, which is very positive.

“This is itself, a confirmation that once processes are managed democratically; the right results would be achieved.

“Every Nigerian should wish PDP, its leaders and party members well. Nigerians should hope that PDP leaders will build on the successes of the National Convention to re-orient their politics based on honesty and respect for one another. Being honest should be about taking responsibility.

“From all indications, PDP leaders have only moderated themselves and submitted to processes of internal negotiations up to the National Convention because they are out of power at Federal level. It can be predicted that, had PDP been the ruling party in the country, the approach would have been different”, Lukman said.

He expressed worry that despite some of the departures from the old abrasive PDP, just as Nigerians would want to wish PDP well, many of it’s leader”s speeches at the Convention demonstrated lack of commitment to take responsibility.

It should therefore, be expected that PDP campaigns for 2023 will be oriented to mislead Nigerians into voting them into power.

“To achieve this, every problem of the country will continue to be politicized and leaders of PDP such as Governor Ortom of Venue State would continue to propagate hatred against APC and President Buhari based on so-called ‘fulanization’ and ‘islamization’ agenda.

“This is a variant of ultra-right-wing politics campaign, which is neo-fascist and neo-Nazist, which is being gradually adopted by PDP. Once PDP allowed its politics to oriented based on ultra-right-wing politics, its capacity to regulate the conduct of its elected leaders will be further weakened.

The PGF Boss noted that as far as PDP leaders are concerned, all the problems facing Nigeria today is the creation of APC as almost all the speeches of PDP leaders during the Convention were about winning election in 2023 and returning to power.

“Sadly, there is no indication, at any point during the Convention, showing how the party intend to solve Nigeria’s challenges. Not even a reference by any PDP leader during the Convention to any provision of the party’s manifesto, which must have gathered dust in the cabinet of Independent Natiinal Electoral Commissiin, (INEC). Perhaps, apart from the few founding members of the party, almost all the delegates to the National Convention have never seen the manifesto of the PDP.

“As much as it is rational for PDP leaders to campaign against the APC and its leaders, being a party that acknowledges its mistakes in 2015, PDP leaders should understand that mobilizing Nigerians to vote them should take its bearing from how they want to govern the country differently from the way they did between 1999 and 2015. Anything short of that will be dishonest,” he noted.

Lukman also faulted the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, led by Mai Mala Buni for allowing someone like Femi Fani-Kayode, who is among the dishonest category of PDP leaders to cross-over from the PDP to APC without any initiative to reform him.

“Liberal disposition of APC, combined with inability of some of the appointees of APC led Federal Government to manage issues of communication based on strategy of contracting partnership with Nigerians in responding to national challenges, allowed false misleading narrative of failure against APC government and President Buhari to dominate public debate.

“Consequently, some of the PDP leaders had the audacity to shamelessly accuse APC of being corrupt while addressing delegates during the National Convention at a time when the country is passing through the shock that some of the recovered ‘properties’ from a former Minister of Petroleum under former President Goodluck Jonathan (2009 – 2015), Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke include under wears (bras and pants), estimated at $12.5 million, more than N6 billion,” the APC Chieftain said.

Lukman advised that as APC prepares’ for its National Convention, issues of unity of the country and responses to national security challenges should be priorities.