Director General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Salihu Moh. Lukman, has expressed confidence that the ongoing rebuilding process in the party will end by June 2021.
Lukman said the APC can have almost two years before the 2023 general elections to negotiate landmark political challenges and possibly produce some internal consensus, which should be able to throw up credible candidate for the 2023 general elections at all levels.
In a statement the PGF boss made available to newsmen Sunday in Abuja, lamented that the ongoing rebuilding efforts were hardly appreciated by some section of the APC leadership.
The statement titled “Seductiveness of Conventional Politics and the Challenges facing APC” written in honour of late Sam Nda Isaiah, the Leadership Newspaper Publisher, who died at the weekend, the APC chieftain said the seductiveness of conventional politics creates a strong opposition to reforms within political parties.
“The process of membership registration/revalidation is expected to be followed immediately by processes of leadership formation at all levels. From all the internal debates so far, one of the underlying objectives is to resolve the challenge of electing new party leaders in the same year when general elections are to take place.
“Electing party leaders in the same year when candidates for general elections are to emerge only re-enforce the desperation of aspiring politicians to control structures of the party. With all the rebuilding process expected to end in June 2021, it then means that APC can have almost two years before the 2023 general elections to negotiate landmark political challenges and possibly produce some internal consensus, which should be able to throw up credible candidate for the 2023 general elections at all levels.
While citizens, and to a great extent, party members, are interested in broad issues of democracy and rule of law, which should empower citizens and party members to elect leaders and make them accountable, for politicians, it is reduced to preservation of power, by whatever means possible. The point of unity between citizens, party members and politicians is simply located in the need for a strong political party with strong internal democracy to win elections and strengthen national democratic culture and practices.
“A major issue will be the capacity of structures of the party, especially the National Secretariat, to serve as the coordinating hub for the implementation of decisions of the party. One of the major challenge of politics is that it hardly recognise the value of professionalism. Often, the extend to which professionalism is sacrificed narrow the scope of reform and quickens the resurgence of conventional politics. In other words, the whole business of reforming the party will be reduced to throwing up sections of the party’s leadership as candidates for general elections. This is already being speculated by sections of the APC leadership opposed to the reform going on.”
Aaccording to him, there is the need to take every step necessary to ensure that the reform going on in APC strengthen internal democracy within the party.
“This will require that all activities of membership registration/revalidation, congresses and national convention are carefully planned. To achieve this will require that members of His Excellency Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee are taking the necessary steps to strengthen the capacity of the APC National Secretariat to implement all decisions. This is largely about taking responsibility and communicating decisions to party members and the public. Although, considerable progress has been achieved, it is important to appeal for more consultations, coordination and better communications of initiatives and all the internal reform process.”
Lukman said poor consultations, coordination and communication make party members to be contemptuous of every decision taken, which he added strengthens the confidence of those opposed to internal party reform.
“The solution to all these lies in the ability of the 13-member Caretaker Committee to work harmoniously with the required professional competence. The Secretary of the Caretaker Committee should be able to facilitate the process of planning and one of the 13 members should be able to lead the process of members’ and public mobilisation. Therefore, instead of some of the dry press releases throwing banters at PDP leaders who are struggling to bounce back to pollical reckoning, the messages from the Caretaker Committee and the party should be about rebuilding the party.
“Our leaders, especially the Caretaker Committee should bear in mind constantly the message of Obama in his Memoir, that “It was the nature of democracies to swing between periods of progressive changes and conservative retrenchment.” The swing to conservativism may be produced from within the party. The goal of reform therefore is to ensure that the party is fortified as the bearer of democratic values and progressive politics. This is the critical success factor for enduring reform that should come with commitment to democratic values and rule of law, which is not limited to preservation of power.
“This is what is required to overcome the seductiveness of conventional politics. Eventually, the APC should be able to return to the original vision whereby every member of the party should have a voting right during the process of electing leaders for the party and selecting candidates for elections at all levels. Ultimately, the reform should be able to guarantee that all negotiations for appointments by governments produced by the party should be mainstreamed as part of the operational activities of the party.”