Ex-Minister Ikimi: ‘Certain Forces Turned APC Into Structure That Doesn’t Serve Nigeria’s Best Interest’
According to former Foreign Affairs Minister and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tom Ikimi, the ruling party was taken over by some forces and changed into a structure that was not beneficial to the nation after it was created.
During a stakeholders’ meeting in Benin City, Edo State, on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Ikimi, a national leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly said this.
The APC was supposed to serve as a rival to the previous ruling PDP when it was formed, he said, adding that the goal was to mimic the two-party system that is in place in the US and the UK.
The APC is currently determined to eliminate the opposition party and establish a one-party dictatorship, said Ikimi.
“My opinion is that the APC was taken over by some forces and changed into a structure that was not optimal for our country,” he stated. Thus far, we have all witnessed their operations and the calamity we are experiencing.
These days, the APC is just a group of individuals with individual interests.
Even though our nation is currently facing significant challenges under the APC, it appears that all that is being offered to us are frantic attempts to dismantle the PDP in order to turn the nation into a one-party dictatorship. It is quite evident to me that the PDP’s survival is currently our nation’s sole hope for progress.
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Ikimi bemoaned the devastation of the PDP’s unity and power in the South-South area due to individual aspirations when discussing the party’s continuing issue.
He claims that because of the fierce attack, PDP members in Delta State have defected to the APC.
This stakeholder meeting is crucial, he continued. It gives the nation a very clear indication of how powerful and active the PDP is in Edo State. Recently, the South South Region has been under heavy APC onslaught.
Reports of our Delta State Governor defecting to the APC, along with that of his predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, have been reported in the media. I am aware of the path the PDP took in order to award our party’s ticket to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and to award the vice presidential ticket to his predecessor.
My only conclusion at this point is that it is premature to voice too many regrets. That Delta residents have yet to speak up in remembrance of the PDP’s crushing defeat in 2023 to Senator Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who was running without a governor at the time, is not out of place.
