Salihu Lukman Claims APC Cannot Win Elections Without Rigging

Salihu Lukman, former Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and immediate-past National Vice Chairman, North West of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has asserted that the party can no longer win elections without resorting to rigging.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Lukman highlighted the deteriorating situation within the party and the country, expressing his need to clarify his stance to several party leaders.

“It is a shared concern of most leaders of the party that the situation in the country has deteriorated in the last year since the assumption of office of President Bola Tinubu,” Lukman noted.

He criticized the current state of the party structures and the government’s policies, which he claims have worsened living conditions for citizens.

“Given a reality that the party structures have been demobilized and the government is implementing policies that have eroded the value of incomes of citizens, conditions of living are rapidly getting worse by the day. With that, both the APC and the governments it controls are getting more and more unpopular,” Lukman stated.

He further warned that under the current circumstances, winning elections would be impossible without rigging. “It doesn’t require any investigation, at this rate, there is no way we can win election except through rigging.

The popular saying in the country now is that President Tinubu is a one-term President. The hard truth is that the country will be lucky to get to 2027, without witnessing upheavals.”

Lukman called for the development of a strong party organization that can hold the President and all elected representatives accountable to the party’s organs.

Reflecting on the experiences with former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Tinubu, he emphasized the need for Nigerians to prioritize party reforms.

“Given all this, it is not possible to remain in APC, if at all President Tinubu will allow internal reform in the party to return it to its founding vision, which as it is, is very remote.

But my reality now in the party is that my membership has been rendered useless and there is no need for me to continue to impose myself,” Lukman remarked.

Expressing his disillusionment with the current administration, Lukman prayed for a change of heart in President Tinubu to revive his democratic credentials.

He concluded by stating his loss of hope in achieving significant progress under Tinubu’s leadership after a year of “planless leadership.”