The former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has challenged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) not to be a spectator in policymaking but project its manifesto for effective and efficient implementation by government produced by the party.
Fayemi insisted that the party leadership with Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje should be the one telling President Bola Tinubu the feedback from Nigerians and not what he hears in the villa where he is locked.
The former chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum stated these in his remarks at the public presentation of the book: “APC and Transition Politics,” written by former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the party, Salihu Lukman in Abuja on Tuesday.
He described the author as the conscience of the APC and progressive politics in Nigeria, committed to being the voice in the wilderness that the party must be progressive, and urged leaders at all levels to use the message to begin the rebuilding process of the party.
“If there is anybody who can be described as the conscience of the All Progressives Congress and progressive politics in Nigeria today, more than any of us is Salihu Mohammed Lukman. So our being present here is a token of paying homage to the voice of the voiceless and that individual committed and insisted to be the voice in the wilderness that our party must be progressive.
“This party should not be a spectator in policy making. This party should be the one that should project the manifesto of the party.
This party leader should be the one that tells our president that this is the feedback from the communities and constituency out there not what he is hearing in the villa where he is locked out. All of us who hold public offices we know how it can be.
“The book should be a compulsory read for members of the National Working Committee at the national level, state level, local government, ward level so that we can begin the rebuilding process of this organic party, Dr Umar Ganduje is highly committed.
On his part, a former national chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole urged Lukman to always seek internal ways of resolving party issues and offering pieces of advice before going to public.
Oshiomhole said while he took the criticism of the author in good faith, faulted his failure to acknowledged the good works he too did for the party such bankrolling the campaigns of all APC candidates running into billions of Naira in the 2019 general elections.
“Lukman wrote several letters, dismissing my leadership without calling me. When you ride on the back of a tiger, there is only one destination. Lukman was appointed undemocratically by the governors forum. I was not consulted—I was a governor. We were told this is the new DG of APC governors forum.
“Lukman was there When I wrote a letter, inviting the governors for a meeting discuss the guidelines for conducting primaries, let me know the thinking of the various interest groups. I have discuss with the president, I need to discuss with the governors, another stakeholders, so that once the guidelines are out, the party can claim ownership of it because it has been debated.
“I wrote to the governors for a meeting. The governors said no, I should come to Imo House, not APC office. He (Lukman) was in the governors office (where they were holding the meeting). He did not see anything wrong with that. I sat there, the governor.
“Chairman sir, if you have not faced it already, you will face it. The only difference is if the president decide to intervene and moderate. In my own case, we have a president who was not ready to intervene,” he said.
In his remarks, Lukman said one of the driving forces for him writing the book and was to basically stimulate discussion within the party and hopefully get the party leaders to own it and maybe mainstream it into the structures of the party.
“One of the things we were afraid of when planning the event, was a situation where we end up talking to ourselves. This indeed reflected a lot in the presentations here, keeping tbe kind of image I know I have acquired for myself, it will be difficult to have the confidence that leaders will be here.
“That His Excellency, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is now the National Chairman, after all, and including all that Comrade Adams Oshiomole has reflected on, even after all I have canvassed publicly, it is a clear demonstration of the fact that this party (APC) had a clear future.
“What is required is to try and give critical support to all our leaders so that they can revive all the structures of the party. Part of the issues we keep debating is the future of our children. Looking back to where we are coming from, we (parents) had it better than what our children are having now.
“The whole concept of progressive governance or progressive politics is about making a better life. We will continue to write and we will take all the advice given. We will remain who we are and we will try to serve the party to the best of our knowledge,” he stated.
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