Salihu Lukman Says APC Has Drifted Into Monarchical Rule, Forsaking Democracy

The ruling party has totally strayed from its original ideals, according to former All Progressives Congress National Vice Chairman (Northwest) Salihu Lukman, who claims that it now functions more like a monarchy than a democratic organization.
In an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, Lukman—who left the APC in 2023, citing a betrayal of democratic values—made the comments while discussing Muhammadu Buhari’s legacy, the internal disintegration of the APC, and his outlook for a new political alliance.
In his homage to the late former president Buhari, Lukman characterized him as a paradoxical individual, pointing out that his greatest asset—his refusal to intervene—was also his greatest weakness.

“The irony of the late President Buhari is that his weakness is his strength,” Lukman stated. His weakness is that he tolerated nearly everything around him because of his non-interventionist mindset.

“That seemed like his strength, but it turned out to be the bigger problem.”

He maintained that under his direction, the party structure deteriorated and that Buhari’s accommodating style prevented decisive leadership.

We couldn’t use the freedom that President Buhari granted all leaders to grow the party while he was still in office. “Instead, the party was sacrificed,” he stated.

Lukman claims that the APC has regressed into a shadow of its former self and has lost the internal checks and balances that once distinguished it as a promising party.

“APC has gone from being a party with many promises to essentially being a party that is acting more like a midwife and more or less as its organ,” he bemoaned.

Rather than serving as a watchdog or strategic guide, he charged the party with becoming little more than a cheerleader for elected officials.

“We can just as easily have a monarchy when a party reduces itself to almost acting as a cheerleader, singing praises of elected representatives,” Lukman cautioned.

Major decisions are made without consultation, and key party organs no longer operate in the current APC, which Lukman characterized as a hollow structure.

The majority of state governments do not meet as executive councils. He declared, “The party organs don’t work.”

According to him, the party is unable to self-correct or conduct a meaningful assessment of its performance in government as a result of the breakdown of internal democracy.

Speaking about Abdullahi Ganduje’s recent resignation as the National Chairman of the APC, Lukman said the result was unavoidable because internal agreements had been continuously broken.

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He indicated that Ganduje’s leadership alienated important stakeholders and further damaged trust in the party’s structure by saying, “Once you undermine agreement within the party, you make yourself vulnerable.”

Lukman stated that since leaving the APC, his attention is now on forming a new coalition that values democracy and stays away from the strongman mentality.

He asserted that leaders’ humility might be a better setting for democratic development, saying, “We don’t have anybody with the kind of intimidating profile as that of late President Buhari in the coalition.”

“All coalition leaders must be humble and recognize their mutual dependence,” Lukman continued.

He emphasized that creating a “fresh political template” that truly reflects the ambitions of Nigerians was the aim, not just overthrowing the APC or President Tinubu.

Lukman urged accountability, internal democracy, and group decision-making in his closing remarks, all of which he feels have been lost in the APC’s recent development.