Salihu Mohammed Lukman, a former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), has leveled serious accusations against Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alleging his management of government affairs is akin to that of a military dictator.
Lukman asserts that Tinubu has allegedly dismantled the party’s structures and adopted a dictatorial approach, claiming absolute knowledge of solutions to Nigeria’s problems.
In a statement released on Saturday, Lukman, who also served as the APC’s former national vice chairman (North West), expressed grave concerns over the prevailing security and socio-economic challenges gripping the nation.
He warned that these issues pose a significant threat to Tinubu’s chances of securing a second term and could potentially lead to the collapse of the APC’s influence by 2027 if left unaddressed.
Lukman lamented the rampant poverty, insecurity, hunger, and the soaring cost of goods and services in Nigeria, attributing these hardships to what he perceives as the APC leadership’s failure to deliver on its promises.
READ ALSO: “Tinubu’s Govt Still Paying About N1 Trillion on Fuel Subsidy Monthly,” Says Pinnacle Oil CEO
He criticized both former President Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu, accusing them of betraying the ideals of the party’s merger in 2013 and deviating from the principles outlined in the APC manifesto, thereby exacerbating the plight of Nigerians.
“What Nigerians are having today wasn’t what was promised at all. The most disturbing reality is that the current economic hardship is produced during the first term of President Asiwaju Tinubu, with no end in sight. Does it then mean that President Asiwaju Tinubu is not interested in second term? Certainly not.
“If he is interested in second term, why is he managing affairs of government like a military dictator, shutting down the structures of the party and talking down to citizens like a philosopher king who has absolute knowledge of what will produce possible happiness for citizens?
“Unless the objective is to secure second term by other means and not votes of electorate, there can not be any logical reasoning. Could that be the reason for the newfound love with some identified political merceneries who were strongly opposed to the election of President Asiwaju Tinubu? How successful could they be?
“If military governments with all their recruited merceneries could fail to guarantee their survival how could anyone imagine that merceneries could win second term for Asiwaju?” He queried.
Lukman said one of the arguments being canvassed by many disappointed APC members was that both former President Buhari and Tinubu just wanted to win election and become Presidents of Nigeria.
“Once they achieved that, any other thing with respect to good government and policy orientation is hardly a priority. Impliedly, this means that the whole merger exercise producing the APC was a deception. Rightly or wrongly, many APC leaders and members have come to accept this explanation as the main objective for the merger,” he added.
