Former National Vice Chairman, North West of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, has urged leaders in the ruling party to collaborate with President Bola Tinubu in the onerous challenge of fighting corruption in the public sector.
Lukman offered the admonition in a statement, “Prebendal Politics and Crisis of Nigerian Democracy,” issued to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
The APC chieftain statement was on the heels of an alleged financial sleaze in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
While he commended President Tinubu for his firm decision to suspend Dr Beta Edu, Lukman maintained that leaders in the party “must rise to the occasion and remain resolute in engaging President Asiwaju Tinubu and all APC leaders to return APC to its founding vision of being a functionally progressive party, based on which it is able to develop the needed capacity to regulate the conducts of public officials it produces.
The statement stated that “Inability to regulate the conduct of public officials by political parties is at the root of the problem facing democracy in Nigeria, which strengthen prebendal politics. As loyal members of APC, the disposition will be to confidently engage both President Asiwaju Tinubu and all leaders of the party so that new chapter in the fight against corruption is opened, such that APC and all its organs are activated to be functional and strengthened to regulate the conducts of all public officials.
“However, it is important to moderate our expectations with the reality that once President Asiwaju Tinubu’s initiatives do not include developing corresponding relationships with organised groups in the country, based on which engagements and negotiations on policy measures and their outcomes are made possible, inclination towards prebendal politics will remain high in the country.
“Unfortunately, also given that President Asiwaju Tinubu is more disposed to be accessed by politicians whose mission is limited to being prebendal, discourages any strong expectation for deeper political reform in the country under President Asiwaju Tinubu.
“Given such discouraging prospect, what is the future of democracy in Nigeria? Even with such ugly prospect, APC leaders must rise to the occasion and remain resolute in engaging President Asiwaju Tinubu and all APC leaders to return APC to its founding vision of being a functionally progressive party, based on which it is able to develop the needed capacity to regulate the conducts of public officials it produces. To be able to achieve that would require a change in the way party leaders relate with President Asiwaju Tinubu.
A situation whereby disposition of party leaders towards the President is limited to issues of accessing opportunities in government would only strengthen prebendal politics and weaken initiatives towards returning the APC to its founding vision of becoming a progressive party.
“Once prebendal politics remain strong and initiatives towards making the APC becoming a progressive party are weak, the fight against corruption in the country will be weak. APC leaders must rise to this challenge and provide the required support to ensure that Nigerian democracy overcome its prebendal orientation to become both responsive and representative of the wider interests of Nigerians. As a party, APC must turn a new leaf in Nigerian democracy by doing everything necessary to ensure that the government of President Asiwaju Tinubu succeed. Nigerian politics must be about meeting the expectations of citizens based on which elected leaders make every sacrifice to justify the votes of Nigerians!”
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