Salihu Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman (Northwest) of the All Progressives Congress, has said that the ruling party has totally strayed from its original ideals and is now functioning more like a monarchy than a democratic organization.
In an interview on Arise News on Wednesday, Lukman—who left the APC in 2023, citing a betrayal of democratic values—made the comments while discussing Muhammadu Buhari’s legacy, the internal disintegration of the APC, and his plans for a new political alliance.
In his eulogy of the late former president Buhari, Lukman characterized him as a paradoxical individual, pointing out that his greatest asset—his non-intervention—was also his greatest weakness.
“The paradox of late President Buhari is that his weakness is his strength,” Lukman stated. His weakness was his non-interventionist mindset, which allowed him to put up with nearly everything that happened to him.
“It seemed to be his strength, but it turned out to be the greater obstacle.”
He maintained that under his leadership, the party structure deteriorated and that Buhari’s accommodating style prevented decisive leadership.
“We were unable to utilize the latitude President Buhari granted all leaders to grow the party while he was still in office. Rather, the party was sacrificed,” he said.
Lukman claims the APC has lost the internal checks and balances that once made it a party of promise and has regressed into a shadow of its former self.
“APC has fallen from being a party that made many promises to becoming a party that is essentially acting as a midwife and its organ,” he bemoaned.
He charged that instead of serving as a watchdog or strategic advisor, the party had reduced itself to a cheerleader for elected officials.
Lukman cautioned, “We might as well just have a monarchy when a party reduces itself to almost like a cheerleader, singing praises of elected representatives.”
According to Lukman, the present APC is a hollow organization where important party organs are no longer in operation and important decisions are made without seeking input.
The majority of state governments don’t meet as executive councils. “The party organs don’t work,” he declared.
He continued by saying the party is unable to self-correct or conduct a meaningful assessment of its performance in government as a result of the breakdown of internal democracy.
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Speaking about the recent resignation of APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Lukman stated that the result was unavoidable because internal agreements had been continuously broken.
He said, “Once you undermine agreement within the party, you make yourself vulnerable,” implying that Ganduje’s leadership further damaged trust in the party’s structure and alienated important stakeholders.
After leaving the APC, Lukman stated that his current focus is on forming a new coalition that avoids the strongman syndrome and places a higher priority on democratic values.
He claimed that leaders’ humility might be a better basis for democratic development and that the coalition did not include anyone with the late President Buhari’s intimidating profile.
Lukman continued, “All coalition leaders must have humility and recognize their mutual dependence.”
He emphasized that the objective was to create a “new political model” that truly reflects the ambitions of Nigerians, not just to overthrow the APC or President Tinubu.
Lukman ended by promoting accountability, internal democracy, and group decision-making—qualities he feels have been lost in the APC’s recent development.
