…Says Division In Nigeria Politics Will Give APC, Tinubu Relevance In 2027

Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, former governors of Kano and Kaduna states, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Nasir El-rufai have been challenged to unite to rescue the country from All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The immediate-past National Vice Chairman of APC, Salihu Moh Lukman, who gave this charge, warned that if APC and President Tinubu are to have any considerable electoral strength in 2027, it will be on account of the current division, which characterise Nigerian politics and make it impossible for any form of cooperation by political leaders.

Lukman also called on former governors Rotimi Ameachi, Rauf Aregbesola, Kayode Fayemi and Ibikunle Amosun, among other political leaders to team up in order to defeat the ruling party.

Lukman, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, titled: “Future of Democracy in Nigeria,” said that political leaders must recognise that rescuing Nigeria from its current slippery slope is about teamwork and partnership, adding that building the kind of united front capable of moving Nigerian democracy forward require selflessness on the part of Nigerian political leaders.

The former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), noted that APC has legitimised higher level of corruption in the country and also legitimising the phenomenon ‘state capture’ virtually at all levels, against its promised to provide the needed leadership to fight corruption.

Lukman, who noted the way the failure of APC has widen the country’s fault lines, said that the way, the people of the South-East rejected the APC since 2015 must be redressed, adding that any new united political front should gain some measure of high acceptability in virtually all parts of the country.

He said: “The requirement for high acceptability from all sections of the country should humble all political leaders in the country, especially Alh. Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi not to exploit the need for such a united front by imposing their Presidential ambitions. In the same vein, other APC leaders such as Prof. Osinbajo, Chief Amaechi, Dr. Fayemi, Mal. El-Rufai, Sen. Amosu, etc. (APC political orphans) who in one way or the other have ambitions to become Nigeria’s President must bury such ambitions, at least not during the negotiation to form the united political front.

“We must appeal to all political leaders in Nigeria, across all the political parties in the country to commit themselves in forging a new atmosphere of political unity in the country based on selfless disposition, forgiving the misgiving of the past and national reconciliation.

“If APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu are to have any considerable electoral strength in 2027 it will be on account of the current division, which characterise Nigerian politics and make it impossible for any form of cooperation by political leaders.

“Absence of cooperation among political leaders is responsible for the rising incidences of bad governance in the country and is eroding the basis Nigerian nationhood. Once democracy cannot respond to challenges facing citizens, Nigeria as a sovereign entity will be irrelevant and questionable.

“Nigerian opposition political leaders, including the orphaned leaders of APC who are excluded in the APC government of President Asiwaju Tinubu, notably Alh. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, etc. must unite to rescue Nigeria.

“Whether producing the united political platform can be achieved through merger of existing parties, forming a new party or rebranding any of the existing parties is a decision that can be determined if leaders agree to come together and unite.

“First thing first, political leaders must recognise that rescuing Nigeria from its current slippery slope is about teamwork and partnership. It is only through conscious and committed teamwork that we can rebuild important democratic institutions such as political parties, legislatures, electoral bodies, and other institutions, which could hold elected officials accountable.

“Beyond holding elected officials accountable, it is only when we have strong political parties with leaders who run affairs of the party based on provisions of party constitutions that processes of leadership selection can be sanitised in the country.

“Political leaders in Nigeria, notably Alh. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, etc. must answer the question as to whether they want to allow their narrow political ambition to continue block the path for the democratic development of Nigeria? Or why shouldn’t they aspire to register their name as political leaders who were able to rise to the occasion in Nigeria’s hour of national need by coming together to forge a united political front, which could transformed Nigeria’s democracy and reverse the phenomenon of ‘state capture’ that produced ‘small corrupt groups’ of used ‘government officials’ who are appropriating ‘government decision-making to strengthen their own economic positions’?”