The Director-General of Progressive Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukman, on Tuesday delivered a takedown of the suspended Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), after the Appeal Court upheld his earlier suspension.
Lukman said that Oshiomhole “hawked” the party’s soul to “buccaneers” whose interests are winning elections unfairly.
The leadership of the party is divided in their repose to the crisis rocking the party in Edo State, home state of Oshiomhole, who has been pitched in a battle for the soul of the state against the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Obaseki resigned his membership of the APC on Tuesday following his
disqualification from running for the party’s ticket, a process which he believes was teleguided by Oshiomhole.
The governor is yet to say to which party he is headed to, but it is generally believed that he would be flying the ticket of the main opposition party in the state- The People’s Democratic Party.
Lukma said I n a statement on Tuesday, that it is a “disconcerting reality” to be part of an undemocratic political platform which is intolerant of basic tenets of free and fair contests.
The director-general said without even recalling the party’s outing at the 2019 general election, every APC member should be worried.
“It is very difficult and challenging to come to terms with unfolding development in APC. The disconcerting reality of becoming clobbered into another undemocratic political platform, which is intolerant to basic tenets of free and fair contests is hard to admit,” he said.
“Being troubled should have spurred us into some sober reflections with the objective of remedying the situation. Unfortunately, it would appear that we are more determined to reproduce all the obdurate painful experiences, every time we are faced with electoral contests.
“It was Rivers, Zamfara and Bayelsa. Now Edo and Ondo are basically on a roller-coaster with perhaps emerging with the same predictable outcome that consumed our electoral victories in Zamfara and Bayelsa States. Why should this be allowed to happen?
“It is clear that, APC leadership as currently constituted under the leadership of Comrade Oshiomhole is imprudent and cannot be entrusted with the task of leading the party.
“Comrade Oshiomhole’s NWC has hawked the soul of the party to political buccaneers whose narrow interest is just about unfairly winning elections.”
Lukman said Oshiomhole has failed on his promises to provide a party register in all the state and set up a mechanism for conflict resolution in the party.
“APC does not belong to anybody. It is a product of sacrifice by leaders and members of our old legacy parties,” the director-general said.
“Nobody should contemplate leaving the party on account of the rascality going on in the party under Comrade Oshiomhole’s leadership. All members of the party and lovers of democracy in Nigeria must rise against what is going on in APC. It is a struggle for the soul of APC.”
