THE Director-General of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Salihu Lukeman, has warned leaders of the All Progressives Congress to pay attention to what he described as the dwindling electoral prospects of the party.
He said the APC leaders must first accept that the party is faced with a problem of diminishing electoral value to be able to address it.
According to him, only those who do not believe that citizens’ votes count would imagine that the APC’s electoral prospects are high.
The Progressives Governors Forum is the umbrella body of governors elected on the platform of the APC.
In a statement on Friday, titled, “Progressive Politics – Which Way APC?”, Lukeman also expressed concern about the events around the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State, saying that loud drums of war had taken over the airwaves in the state.
He said the APC campaign had been personalised around the former National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, and that the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu was just an onlooker.
To him, the dissolution of the Adams Oshimohole-led National Working Committee of the APC has not solved what he called the party’s diminishing electoral viability.
While commending the efforts by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State to reconcile aggrieved party members, the DG said, “The reverse seems to be the case in Edo State. As opposed to reconciliation, it is loud drums of war that has taken over the airwaves in Edo State. Comrade Oshiomhole has relocated to Edo State and taken over the APC campaign and the campaign is proceeding in a manner that suggests the Edo State Governorship election is an extension of the personal battle between the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and Comrade Oshiomhole.
“The APC campaign is personalised around Comrade Oshiomhole and the candidate of the party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is an onlooker. The soundbite from the Edo APC campaign is so offensive to the point where Comrade Oshiomhole appears to be disowning almost every APC in Edo State between 2016 and now.
“To that extent, it simply means Comrade Oshiomhole is disowning himself, which may be why he went on his knee begging Edo people for forgiveness.“
He reminded the APC leaders that the last leadership crisis was triggered by the deep concerns around the diminishing electoral viability of the party.
Lukeman said, “The reality is, resolving the last leadership crisis with the dissolution of the Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC has not solved the problem of diminishing electoral viability of the party. Therefore, what is it that needs to be done to address the problem of diminishing electoral viability of the APC? Do our leaders even agree that the APC is faced with the problem of diminishing electoral viability?
“This may be the problem partly because if our leaders are unable to recognise that the APC is faced with the problem of diminishing electoral viability, then there is a big problem.
“In the present day Nigeria, with tempers very high everywhere and all manner of negatively imposed public perception, which are false and mostly engineered by our political opponents, it is only people who don’t believe in the votes of citizens as the determinant of electoral victories that will imagine that the APC’s electoral prospects are high.”
