A former member of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Moh Lukman, has said that there is no difference between the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his predecessor, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari.
The former National Vice Chairman, North West, of the APC, said this in an article he wrote on Monday.
The article, titled: “Nigerian politics of morbid desire for naked power,” has been published in full elsewhere on this news website: https://t.co/SrdqBlTirt
In it, the former Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum, the umbrella association of Governors elected on the platform of the APC, argued: “With former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the leaders of the APC, Nigerians believed and supported the APC.
“Undeniably, the expected ‘moral and spiritual reconstruction’ of Nigeria, with APC in power since 2015, remained a wish.
“Even with President Asiwaju Tinubu in power today, who has throughout his political career associated himself with late Chief Awolowo’s philosophical and ideological leanings, ‘morbid desire for naked power’ seems to be the driving aspirations of his leadership.
“Otherwise, how can anyone explain the emerging attributes of President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government?
“Complaints about poor access to the President by many APC leaders is widespread.
“Capacity of APC leaders to exercise influence on President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government is very narrow.
“Without any doubt, the orientation, attributes, and behavioural patterns of President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government is virtually the same with that of former President Buhari.
“Both the two are governments produced by APC but interestingly, both APC as a political party and leaders of the party had little or no say in the two governments.
“Appointments into positions in governments were or are practically carried out exclusively without consulting either the party organs or leaders of the party both during the tenure of former President Buhari and currently under President Asiwaju Tinubu.
“Criteria and qualifications for appointments were or are known only to the two leaders and their close associates.
“Consequently, party leaders and members became orphans, perhaps worse than when they were in opposition parties.”
Lukman, however, said there is one distinct feature between the administrations of Tinubu and Buhari.
He said: “One important distinction is that in the case of the current President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government, steps are being taken to replace all heads of Federal Government Agencies.
“This is a complete departure from what obtained under former President Buhari whereby most heads of Federal Government Agencies appointed by PDP Government of former President Goodluck Jonathan were retained virtually throughout the eight-year tenure of former President Buhari, including Mr. Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“This is mainly responsible for the poor relationship between leaders of the APC and Federal Government appointees even in their respective states.
“It is also the incentive for most of the cases of anti-party activities by many Federal Government appointees during the 2023 general elections.
“Interestingly, however, with constitutional organs of the APC not functioning, these disloyal leaders of the APC have not only gone unpunished, but there are also many allegations of some of these recalcitrant appointees being reappointed in the President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government.
“Like during the tenure of former President Buhari, absence of input by organs of the APC in the decisions of current President Asiwaju is producing the undesirable consequences of loyal APC supporters heading some of the Federal Government Agencies being arbitrarily removed even before the end of their tenure.
“Organs of the APC, since the 2015 electoral victory, never function as provided by the APC constitution.
“As a result, Article 13.3A(vii) of the APC constitution, which requires the National Executive Committee of the APC to ‘Examine the actions taken or legislation proposed or passed by any Government, Legislative House or Local Government Area/Area Council and determine what further actions the Party should take’ is rendered idle. Inability to make organs of the party functional and through the meetings of organs hold elected leaders accountable further entrenched the reality of ‘morbid desire for naked power’, which is very disturbing.
“Sadly, there seems to be attempts by some people in the current President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government and their supporters to explain this worrisome reality with reference to how bad former President Buhari’s government had destroyed the country.
“As leaders and members of APC, we must take responsibility.
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“Although, many of us were neither appointees nor direct beneficiaries of the former President Buhari’s government, as members and leaders of the APC, we were part of that government, and to that extend therefore co-conspirators and liable for whatever is the scorecard of that government.
“Any claim to the contrary will amount to denial of all our failings or shortcomings and therefore outrightly being dishonest.
“If at all we are honest, as committed members of the APC, who were part of the vision to negotiate the merger of APC with the foresight of changing Nigerian politics (moral and spiritual reconstruction), we must acknowledge today’s reality, based on which we must reopen a new chapter of political negotiation in the country.”