Lukman: Until political parties obey their rules, rigging will continue

Salihu Lukman, immediate past vice-chair of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the north-west, says until political parties are compelled to obey their rules, imposition of candidates and election  rigging will continue.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lukman said electoral reforms would not be complete without “stronger regulatory framework for the operations of political parties in the country”.

“The reality is that, unless political parties are compelled to respect their rules based on which organs of the parties are allowed to function, problems of manipulation of political contests through imposition, vote buying and rigging would continue,” he said.

“Political parties and many other political institutions would continue to be destroyed.

“Any proposal for electoral reform in the country must therefore include a stronger regulatory framework for the operations of political parties in the country.”

The former director-general of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said Tinubu may only be interested in developing APC because of what he stands to gain from it.

“If anything, what is very clear is that President Asiwaju Tinubu’s commitment to the development of the APC as a political party may only be guaranteed to the extent that the party will give him what he wants,” he said.

“It is almost a return to the old PDP model of party organisation under former President Olusegun Obasanjo with the requirement of 100% loyalty.

“Without any attempt to reopen old wounds, the requirement for 100% loyalty was responsible for the graveyard silence internally within the APC when Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was proposed by President Asiwaju Tinubu as National Chairman.

“After Dr. Ganduje’s successful emergence, there is also graveyard silence even when Dr. Ganduje continued with the practice of freezing structures of the party.

“No meetings of organs are taking place almost four months after the emergence of Dr. Ganduje as the APC National Chairman.”

Lukman said leaders of APC must be humble and have listening ears.