Membership revalidation, avenue for APC to commence democratic negotiation — Lukman

By Tunde Opalana

The Director-General, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr. Salihu Lukman has said that as National Caretaker Committee if the All Progressives Congress (APC) is toeing the path of democratic negotiation as it is about to commence processes of membership registration and verification across the country, Daily Times gathered.

He urged the leadership and stakeholders of APC to aggressively mobilise Nigerians across all parts and sections of the country to join the party. as this should be a necessary precondition to accelerate the process of ensuring that political negotiations in the country go beyond electoral contests.

Otherwise, he said Nigeria’s democracy will remain stagnant and limited to electoral contests with the risk of the current ugly leadership vicious circle.

In a personal position that does not represent that of the party or its governors, Lukman said members and leaders of interest groups need to be convinced that the APC being the go-to party for the realisation of political aspirations of diverse interests including professional and organised groups has to do with conducts of elected and appointed officials in governments controlled by the party.

He opined that to have a successful membership drive, elected and appointed officials of the APC should be disposed to public debates, engagements and negotiations with organised groups.

 Lukman also urged party officials not to consider demands by interest groups as expression of disagreement and therefore evidence of conspiracy against the party, governments it control and all our political leaders.

 “For our democracy to develop to the level of producing compromises on a permanent basis, and with all Nigerians across all sectors based on corresponding respect for every interest in the country, the structures of our parties must be opened and broadened to accommodate everyone”, he said.

The Director General was optimistic that in APC, nothing is impossible, for the party”s leaders have broken the country’s political ice twice.

He said “they have led us to negotiate the first successful merger of political parties in the history of the country. They have also led us to successfully negotiate a major leadership crisis of existential magnitude, which is arguably the first of its kind that has not led to breakaway and split in the party.

“As party members, we need to support our leaders and appeal to them to introduce all the required initiatives to enhance the democratic orientation of both the party and the country. At this critical point of our development, both as an emerging democracy and as a party, the catchphrase should be producing political comprises through debate and negotiations.

“This should be our new standards for political contests in the country, based on which we are able to command electoral advantages and assert our political superiority”.

Lukman blamed the political leadership for inability to facilitate political negotiations and produce compromises since 1999 considering the failure of past leaders to negotiate Nigeria’s corporate existence through various arrangements.

“We had the Oputa Panel, 2005 National Political Reform Conference, 2014 National Conference and most recently the 2017 APC Committee on True Federalism. This is apart from the constitutional amendment process of the National Assembly every four years.

“Without going into details, it is important to ask the question, what is really the problem that is making it impossible for our political leaders to facilitate well measured political negotiations that could produce some qualitative compromises?”.

He lamented that political development initiatives without corresponding negotiation or engagement involving political leaders and citizens, create problems of ownership.

He said “for instance, what will any leader or section of the country lose if provisions of the APC Committee on True Federalism are to be subjected to debates for constitutional and legal amendments in the National Assembly? Why is it easy to mobilise support for electoral contests but impossible to consider any mobilisation for contests on matters that affect the wellbeing of our democracy and our nation?

“Without the capacity to negotiate interests and broker compromises, our democracy and our nation is imperiled. Both citizens and political leaders must take the urgent necessary steps to be on the same page and transform all our political structures into active platforms for interest negotiations”.

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