Former Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Dr Salihu Lukman has sounded a note of warning to the Rivers State Governor, Mr Siminalaye Fubara, of an impending move to undermine him following the dissolution of the executive members of the Rivers state chapter of the All progressives Congress (APC).

Lukman, in a piece titled: “End of Progressive Politics” argued that argued that If dissolution stand, stage managed congresses will be organised to produce new party executives at all levels who will be loyal to the Minister of the Federal capital territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Lukman who was the immediate past National Vice Chairman North of the APC envisaged that by 2027, Wike who has already fallen apart with Fubara would produce the APC Governorship candidate for Rivers State.

He claimed that APC under the leadership of President Tinubu, as it is constituted today, wasn’t the APC the founding fathers sold to Nigerians both in 2015 and 2023.

Lukman contended that with a garrison brand of progressive politics being played with Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the helm of affairs of the party, problems of political divisions in the country will be entrenched.

He noted: “The strategy of APC in Rivers State for 2027 will be to further fragment the people of the state. Rather than working to unite political leaders in Rivers State, based on which APC being an envisioned progressive party will be seeking to unite Chief Amaechi and Barr. Wike to be members of APC, President Asiwaju Tinubu’s garrison politics will only seek to take advantage of the current division between Chief Amaechi and Barr. Wike.

“In addition, Barr. Wike will have to incur the political cost of separating from his political godson, Chief Fubara. Even if Chief Fubara achieved all that needs to be achieved as Governor of Rivers State, President Asiwaju Tinubu’s garrison politics will emasculate him.

“For all these to be imagined under the leadership of President Asiwaju Tinubu, who is regarded to be a progressive politician and a descendant of Chief Awolowo will make Chief Awolowo to turn in his grave. Even Chief M. K. O Abiola have difficulty relating with many of the political decisions taken by President Asiwaju Tinubu in the last six months.

“At this rate, President Asiwaju Tinubu is practically pushing Nigerians to bid bye bye to progressive politics. With such reality, it simply means, the structures of APC in FCT will also be dissolved to produce new APC leaders at all levels of the party who will be loyal to Barr. Wike.

“And any state where APC is led by people who might have opposed President Asiwaju Tinubu will similarly be dissolved. Once the circle of imposing stooges as APC leaders at all levels is completed, which started with imposing Dr. Ganduje as National Chairman, the next level of imposition will spread to all other democratic institutions to guarantee the supremacy of garrison politics, which will then affirm all the political choices of APC under the leadership of President Asiwaju Tinubu, whatever that means.”

Continuing, he argued: “Something must be done urgently to arrest the current drift towards garrison politics in the name of progressive politics. It is either APC leaders take the needed steps to call both Dr. Ganduje, the APC NWC and President Asiwaju Tinubu to order by restoring constitutional order and returning the party to its founding vision of progressive politics, which should be about unity of party leaders and Nigerians, or the party can as well declare an end to progressive politics in Nigeria.

” So long as the decision of the NWC to dissolve all party executives in Rivers State at all levels is allowed to stand, it simply means that anyone who is alleged to have worked against President Asiwaju Tinubu during the 2023 elections is expelled from the party.

“With such declaration, the culture of imposition of candidates at all levels will take over APC. Consequently, elections will not be about the votes of citizens. Winners in elections will only be produced through rigging, vote buying and other manipulative strategies.

“The earlier every genuine APC leader come to terms with this new reality and begin the process of mobilisation both within the party and at wider levels of national political mobilisation, the better for the survival of democracy in country. A stitch in time, saves nine!” (The Guardian)

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