APC hits Salihu Lukman, says he has history of ‘opportunistic politicking’

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says Salihu Lukman, its former vice-chair in the north-west, has a history of “opportunistic politicking”.

Lukman, a former director-general of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), has been critical of the ruling party.

He has constantly criticised President Bola Tinubu over his handling of the country’s economy and party issues. Former President Muhammadu Buhari was not spared by Lukman too.

In a statement on Tuesday, Felix Morka, spokesperson of the APC, said since Lukman resigned as the party’s vice-chair in the north-west, he has “been sleepless in search of political relevance”.

“In his new self-assigned role, he alleges, without substantiation, that APC ‘ruined the country in economic policies and corruption’ and called on opposition parties and Nigerians to vote out APC in 2027,” he said.

“Such an empty and outlandish allegation is undeserving of any response especially coming from a displaced political gaslighter.

“One day, Lukman claims to be a progressive committed to fixing the People Democratic Party’s (PDP) 16 years of rot, another day, he proclaims abiding faith in the capacity of the PDP and decadent political opposition to save Nigeria.

“Lacking conviction, or staying power to justify any cause, Lukman is not in any position to advise Nigerians on how to vote or who to vote for.

“His latest call for opposition leaders to unite against the APC is a calculated move to cobble political relevance, divert attention from the administration’s substantial progress, and further his own selfish agenda.

“Lukman is simply a cantankerous political rodomont.”

Morka said it is “ludicrous” for the former PGF DG to tout opposition PDP and Labour Party (LP) parties that could offer Nigeria good leadership.

“The same opposition parties that Lukman devoted a good number of years lampooning as inept, chronically corrupt, unpatriotic and destructive to our democracy,” he said.

“It takes an overdose of blinding self interest to vacillate between extremes without reason or rationality.

“In all of his painfully verbose Sisyphean letters to the Greek gods, Lukman has not explained to Nigerians why he believes as he believes in the failed opposition parties.”

The APC spokesperson said Tinubu is tackling the country’s “generational economic problems for the good of present and future generations of Nigerians”.