Salihu Lukman: APC Now Operates Like a Monarchy, Not a Democratic Party

Salihu Lukman, the former National Vice Chairman (Northwest) of the All Progressives Congress, has said that the ruling party has totally strayed from its original ideals and is now functioning 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 plans for a new political alliance.
Lukman praised the late former president Buhari, describing him as a paradoxical individual whose greatest strength—non-intervention—was also his greatest weakness.

“The paradox of the late President Buhari is that his weakness is his strength,” Lukman stated. His non-interventionist attitude, which allowed him to tolerate nearly everything around him, is his weakness.

“That seemed to be his strength, but it turned out to be the greater obstacle.”

He maintained that under Buhari’s leadership, the party structure deteriorated and that decisive leadership was impeded by his accommodating style.

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

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

He bemoaned, “APC has fallen from a party with many promises to a party that is more or less serving its organ, and more or less acting as a midwife.”

Instead of serving as a watchdog or strategic guide, he charged that the party had reduced itself to a cheerleader for elected officials.

Lukman cautioned that “we can as well just have a monarchy when a party reduces itself to almost like a cheerleader, singing praises of elected representatives.”

According to Lukman, the current APC is a hollow organization where important party organs are no longer in operation and important decisions are made without seeking input.

Executive council meetings are not held by the majority of state governments. “The party organs aren’t working,” he declared.

He continued by saying that 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.

In response to Abdullahi Ganduje’s recent resignation as APC National Chairman, Lukman stated that the result was unavoidable because internal agreements had been continuously broken.

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

After leaving the APC, Lukman stated that his current focus is on forming a new coalition that avoids the strongman syndrome and places a higher priority on democratic principles.

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

Lukman continued, “The coalition’s leaders must all have humility and recognize their mutual dependence.”

He emphasized that the objective was to create a “fresh political template” that truly reflects the aspirations of Nigerians, not just to overthrow the APC or President Tinubu.

In his closing remarks, Lukman argued for accountability, internal democracy, and group decision-making—qualities he feels have been lost in the APC’s recent development.