TheNewsGuru

Tag: Salihu Lukman

  • Your hunger for attention is insatiable APC blasts Lukman

    Your hunger for attention is insatiable APC blasts Lukman

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has blasted the former national Vice president North-West, Salihu Lukman for seeking political relevance.

    The party in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka said the manner Lukman is seeking for attention is insatiable.

    The statement reads: Since his exit as a National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lukman has been sleepless in search of political relevance.

    ” He seems to have found for himself, for now, a new role as the chief discordant trumpeter for a cacophonous political opposition.

    ” 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.

    ” 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.

    “Lukman’s history is one of opportunistic politicking, consistently prioritizing his personal ego and interests over the interest of any and all institutions he has ever served. With a highly solipsistic disposition, Lukman is always right, never wrong, wallowing in his bubble of self importance while deprecating group and national interests. 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.

    “It is ludicrous to tout opposition PDP and Labour Party (LP) that cannot even manage their own internal affairs as capable of offering responsible and visionary leadership to Nigeria.

    ” The same opposition parties that Lukman devoted a good number of years lampooning as inept, chronically corrupt, unpatriotic and destructive to our democracy. 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 party urged Nigerians to remain focused and undistracted by the opposition’s pettiness and disinformation, and to continue to support President Tinubu in his commitment to building greater progress and a more vibrant future for our country.

     

  • No way we can win election except rigging – Ex-APC vice chairman

    No way we can win election except rigging – Ex-APC vice chairman

    A former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), North-West, Salihu Lukman has that the party can no longer win elections without rigging.

    Lukman, in a statement on Wednesday said he found it necessary to write to a few leaders of the party and try to clarify his position regarding the situation both in the party and in the country.

    “It is a shared concern of most leaders of the party that the situation in the country has deteriorated in the last year since the assumption of office of President Bola Tinubu.

    Former Director General of Progressive Governors’ Forum, PGF, and immediate-past National Vice Chairman, North West of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Salihu Lukman has said that the party can no longer win elections without rigging.

    Lukman, in a statement on Wednesday said he found it necessary to write to a few leaders of the party and try to clarify his position regarding the situation both in the party and in the country.

    “It is a shared concern of most leaders of the party that the situation in the country has deteriorated in the last year since the assumption of office of President Bola Tinubu.

    “Given a reality that the party structures have been demobilized and the government is implementing policies that have eroded the value of incomes of citizens, conditions of living are rapidly getting worse by the day. With that, both the APC and the governments it controls are getting more and more unpopular.

    “It doesn’t require any investigation, at this rate, there is no way we can win election except through rigging. The popular saying in the country now is that President Tinubu is a one-term President. The hard truth is that the country will be lucky to get to 2027, without witnessing upheavals,” he stated.

    According to him, given the experiences of Nigerians with both former President Muhammadu Buhari and the current President Tinubu, Nigerians must learn the appropriate lessons by ensuring that moving forward, they must prioritise the development of a strong party organisation, which can subordinate the President and all elected representatives under the control of organs of the party.

    “Given all this, it is not possible to remain in APC, if at all President Tinubu will allow internal reform in the party to return it to its founding vision, which as it is, is very remote. But my reality now in the party is that my membership has been rendered useless and there is no need for me to continue to impose myself.

    Praying that God touches the heart of President Tinubu to make him recover whatever is left of his democratic credentials, Lukman said he had lost hope that after one year of planless leadership, not much can be achieved during his administration.

  • ‘Renewed Hope is being exchanged for Renewed Anger’ – Lukman speaks on Nigerians protest against harsh living condition

    ‘Renewed Hope is being exchanged for Renewed Anger’ – Lukman speaks on Nigerians protest against harsh living condition

    Ex-National Vice Chairman, North-east of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman has said that the protest by Nigerians against the harsh economic conditions are justifiable.

    On Monday, Nigerians protested in Niger and Kano states against the increase in the cost of food and harsh economic conditions.

    But the ruling party on Tuesday alleged that opposition parties have resorted to instigating unsuspecting young people to protests in the streets of some major cities as part of desperation to portray the ruling party as underperforming.

    Against this background, Lukman urged President Bola Tinubu not to submit to the temptation of criminalising the legitimate grievances of Nigerians Protesting against harsh living and economic conditions.

    The party chieftian in a statement issued on Wednesday titled, “Renewed Hope Exchanging for Renewed Anger”, said the protest called for urgent response by the government.

    He noted that such a response must as a matter of necessity address existing reality whereby prices of goods and services, especially food items are astronomically going up, almost on hourly basis.

    Lukman stated: How can we be talking of opposition sponsoring protests in the strongholds of the APC? Both Minna and Kano are strong holds of APC. In the case of Minna, Niger State, APC is the ruling party. Kano is the home state of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the APC National Chairman. To suggest that any opposition party could mobilise citizens to protests our government is already defeatist. The hard reality is that these protests are logical responses to the realities facing Nigerians. If these realities continue unattended to, these protests will spread like bush fire across every part of the country within a very short period.

    He was of the opinion that no one should be deceived because the protest h LD in Minna and Kano are justifiable protests, saying Tinubu might wish to ignore them at their own peril.

    Lukman added: “We must appeal to our leaders, especially President Asiwaju Tinubu not to submit to the temptation of criminalising the legitimate grievances of Nigerians.

    “Under no circumstances must our leaders imagine that because they are today’s rulers, unacceptably harsh living conditions caused by clear policy choices of our government should be tolerated.

    “These were the same issues we rose against under the military and during the tenure of PDP between 1999 and 2015. Perhaps, if the truth must be told, if it were during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, many would rationalise it given his military background.

    “But coming during the tenure of President Asiwaju Tinubu who was indisputably a committed democrat, makes it even more compelling for Nigerians to protest. Maybe it is only the loud protests of citizens that will compel President Asiwaju Tinubu to have more listening ears and opens his government for citizens to engage it and influence its policy directions.”

    Lukman said as it is now, the renewed hope agenda of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been floated like the Naira exchange rate.

    He noted: “Renewed  Hope is being exchanged for Renewed Anger. The value is becoming more and more provocative to citizens. At this rate, all appeals for patience may be a simple waste of time given the challenge of survival.

    “Already complicated by worsening security situation in the country so much that Abuja, the Federal Capital has also become insecure, it is in our enlightened interest both as a party and as Nigerians to put pressure on President Asiwaju Tinubu to do the needful by putting in place immediately a clearly defined economic policy to resolve the situation.”

     

  • Tinubu’s National broadcast: Salihu Lukman blasts NLC over ‘silver bullet’ statement

    Tinubu’s National broadcast: Salihu Lukman blasts NLC over ‘silver bullet’ statement

    The immediate ex-National vice Chairman, Northwest, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Salihu Lukman has faulted the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), for describing president Bola Tinubu’s National broadcast as ‘silver bullet that Nigerians expected’.

    Recall that Tinubu had on Monday in his speech said he is aware of the hardship Nigerians are facing due to the various policy decisions of his administration.

    In its reaction, the NLC said the speech appears to be out of touch with reality and failed to address the hardship and suffering that most Nigerians are going through.

    However, Lukman in a statement titled: silver bullet politics and challenges of democracy, said NLC’s statement completely ignores all the proposals contained in Tinubu’s broadcast.

    The APC chieftain opined that
    It is almost as if the NLC response was written even before the broadcast and therefore completely blind of all the proposals.

    “Having served the NLC, and conversant with the tradition of critically and dispassionately reviewing government’s policy proposals, it was disappointing that the NLC reduced its responses to generalised commentary without reference to the specific issues contained in President Tinubu’s national broadcast.

    “As Nigerians, we must appeal to NLC leadership to rise above the narrow sentiment of playing to the gallery based on some deceptively flimsy argument of a so-called silver bullet, if you like silver bullet politics, which is simply egocentric that inconsistent with the interest of Nigerians, including that of the working class.

    “While acknowledging that there would be gaps in the proposals by government and there would be challenges in terms of implementation especially when it comes to guaranteeing that broader interests of Nigerians are accommodated, swiftly dismissing them in the manner done by NLC is unacceptable and will not augur well for our democracy.

    “The mere fact that President Asiwaju Tinubu finds it compelling to address the nation given the difficulties Nigerians are facing since the withdrawal of fuel subsidy is commendable. If anything, this confirms that President Asiwaju Tinubu is not in denial and aspire to ensure that his government is responsive.

    “As argued in the past, part of the challenges of finding solutions to Nigeria’s problems, or silver bullet politics as NLC would want us to consider, is the issue of accommodating the diverse interests of Nigerians in designing and implementing policies of government.

    “We must admit that the decision to address the nation represent remarkable progress in the management of contentious public policy in the country.

    Lukman recommended that
    government should engage organisations of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to set conditions and framework to access the N125 billion being set aside to energise the sector.

    He also appealed all organised groups in the country to demonstrate corresponding commitment to also share the burden of resolving Nigeria’s challenges.

  • BREAKING: APC National Vice Chairman, Salihu Lukman resigns

    BREAKING: APC National Vice Chairman, Salihu Lukman resigns

    After forcing Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore to resign as  National Chairman and National Secretary respectively, the National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Salihu Moh. Lukman has resigned from office.

    The Kaduna politician has in several occasions demanded the removal of senator Adamu and Omisore.

    Lukman in a letter addressed to the Acting National Chairman of the party, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the current leaders of the party, including President Bola Tinubu, is at variance with his own core values.

    The letter reads: “I hereby kindly resign my position as National Vice Chairman, North-West of our great party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “My resignation is with immediate effect, which becomes necessary given my conviction that the atmosphere in the party is completely at variance with the founding vision of forming a progressive party.

    “Rather than remaining in the leadership of the party and become a source of distraction for leaders and especially for the young government of President Asiwaiu Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it is better to excuse myself and take time off from politics.

    “I will however retain my membership of the party in the hope that our leaders, especially President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will retract from acts that will be unjust and illegal, which is crucial to any alaim of being democratic or progressive whether as politicians or as patriotic Nigerians.

    “I Wish to convey my sincere gratitude to our leaders in Kaduna especially Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai for finding me worthy of nomination to serve at the highest of the party’s leadership.

    “I do hope all our leaders will appreciate that I am left with no option in the circumstance. I wish the party and all our leaders, especially President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu all the best and will continue to give my modest support towards the success of the party from the background.”

  • Lukman writes APC governors, warns against Ganduje’s endorsement

    Lukman writes APC governors, warns against Ganduje’s endorsement

    The National Vice Chairman of the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) North-West, Mallam Salihu Lukman, has written the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) following the purported report of endorsing Abdullahi Ganduje as the national chairman of the party.

    The letter titled ‘APC National Chairman: PGF should serve as the Conscience of APC.’warned that such an endorsement would be unfair to President Bola Tinubu and Ganduje.

    Lukman in the letter copied Bola Tinubu, members of the APC National Working Committee, and Ganduje.

    The APC chieftain noted that he found it troubling that the APC governors under Uzodimma’s leadership could be thinking of adopting the former Kano governor as the next chairman.

    “It is quite troubling that Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) under Your Excellency’s leadership is being reported to have decided on adopting Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to become the next National Chairman of APC.

    “While it is within the right of Progressive Governors being a very critical power bloc within the APC to endorse any candidate for the position of National Chairman, to make such decision public, in whatever manner, is unfair to both President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders of the party who are not members of PGF. It is even unfair to Dr. Ganduje who is being endorsed.

    I have served PGF between August 2013 and February 2022 as Director General. I am fully conversant with the conventional approach towards managing consultations between PGF and the party. Whenever PGF is privileged to reach agreement with the President, being the party leader, on matters affecting the party, PGF takes necessary steps to first meet with the NWC or at the least the National Chairman.

    “Where such decisions require pronouncement by organs of the party, PGF uses its influence within the party to negotiate the buy-in of members of the relevant organs. That has been the tradition.

    As a member of NWC, I feel highly slighted that I am only encountering such endorsement in the media. Coming shortly after the resignation of Sen. Abdullahi Adamu and Sen. lyiola Omisore as National Chairman and National Secretary respectively who were accused of undermining organs of the party, it raises questions as to whether PGF under your leadership share the commitment to restore constitutional order in APC and return the party to its founding vision.

    “Given the implication of such endorsement in terms of being unjust and unfair to the North Central region and given that the position of the National Chairman is zoned to North Central based on which zoning for leadership of National Assembly was decided, it simply suggest that the PGF has deviated from its traditional role of acting as the conscience of the party.

    If PGF is to act as the conscience of the party, even if assuming as it is being promoted in the public that the endorsement is coming from President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the PGF I know would have taken every step to convince the President otherwise and if the President insisted, they would have shielded the President by owning the decision. But to handle the endorsement in the way it appears in the public is unfair to President Asiwaju Tinubu and unfair to Dr. Ganduje who is being alleged to have put so much pressure on the President, which is not true.

    I want to strongly appeal to Your Excellency, as the PGF Chairman to kindly return PGF to its conventional role of acting as the conscience of the party by ensuring that the party always takes the right decisions, which will protect the interest of every member, every region and all interest.

    “The PGF under Your Excellency’s leadership must not be seen to be promoting or condoning decisions that are liable to acts of injustice and unfairness to any member, section of the country or interest.”

  • It’ll be suicidal to make Ganduje APC National Chairman

    It’ll be suicidal to make Ganduje APC National Chairman

    Following the resignation of Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the National vice chairman, North West, Salihu Lukman, has said settling for the former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, would be suicidal.

    It was gathered on Wednesday that President Bola Tinubu had settled for Ganduje, as the next National Chairman of ruling party.

    The current acting national chairman of the party, from Borno state, Senator Abubakar Kyari, is said to be nursing a ministerial ambition like some other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

    Lukman, while reacting to the speculations that President Bola Tinubu had settled for Ganduje for the office of national chairman, in a statement noted that anointing Ganduje for the seat ahead of the party’s convention was the height of insensitivity.

    The statement reads:
    “Regrettably, however, many of the speculations do not share the commitment to either restore constitutional order in the party or return the party to its founding vision of returning to the path of progressive politics.

    “In fact, if anything, some of the speculations, if true, will reduce to nonsense the decision to have a change of leadership, which means that no lessons have been learnt from all the circumstances of the last few years since the emergence of APC as a political party.

    “Already, part of the speculations emerging from the Governor’s bloc is that Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is being considered to succeed Senator Abdullahi Adamu. If this is true, it only suggests insensitivity and taking members of the party for granted. This is without prejudice to the person of Dr. Ganduje.

    “This is because such a choice will completely distort the zoning arrangement that informed the present configuration of the leadership of the National Assembly.

    “With the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy Senate President coming from North West and North Central shut out of consideration, to propose the party’s National Chairman move to North West from North Central will be unjust and almost political suicide.

    “We must caution our governors that since the emergence of APC, governors have served almost as the conscience of the party. Any consideration for such an insensitive and unjust consideration of Dr Ganduje to become the National Chairman of APC must be discarded.

    “If anything, the position of National Chairman of the APC must be retained in North Central. Part of the challenge of managing the current transition within the party is getting the NWC to properly take the driving seat in managing and facilitating negotiations to produce and engage leaders of the party. The NWC must sit up and guide the unfolding negotiations. No single power bloc should be allowed to appropriate the process.”

     

  • Presidential poll: Osun was a disaster where you come from – Lukman replies Omisore

    Presidential poll: Osun was a disaster where you come from – Lukman replies Omisore

    Crisis deepens in the National Working Committee  (NWC), of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as the National Vice Chairman (North West) Salihu Lukman, described the party’s National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, as a “phenomenal failure.”

    Lukman had been at loggerheads with the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, and Omisore over the management of the party’s affairs.

    The Vice chairman while reacting to Omisore in a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday said nothing made him an alleged murderer or somebody associated with witches.

    The APC NWC member was reacting to comments made by Senator Omisore during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday night.

    During the interview, Omisore had accused Lukman of being a nonentity, loose canon, and black sheep in the party, adding that he was acting alone in the 25-member NWC.

    Lukman said the ruling party does not have a winning team as claimed by the National Secretary and should accept his shortcomings as a leader in Osun State.

    He advised Omisore to be humble in accepting the defeat of the party in his home state, adding that he was in denial of the reality of times in his state.

    He said: “Osun was a disaster and that is where the National Secretary comes from. I saw him yesterday shamelessly talking about a winning team. If we are a winning team, why prevent us from replicating the feat in your base? We did not only lose the governorship seat, but we also lost all the Senate seats, House of Representatives seats, and House of Assembly seats. Osun is the only state we have that case.

    “It is only the National Secretary that is in denial of that reality. The first mark of a progressive is to have the humility to accept your shortcomings. I saw a National Secretary talking brazenly as if he was a champion.”

  • Crisis hits APC NWC as Omisore labels Lukman ‘loose canon, black sheep’

    Crisis hits APC NWC as Omisore labels Lukman ‘loose canon, black sheep’

    Crisis in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as the party’s National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore on Tuesday took a swipe at the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-West, Salihu Lukman.

    Lukman had been at loggerheads with the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, and Omisore over the management of the party’s affairs.

    Lukman had dragged both Adamu and Omisore to court for failing to account for sales of nomination forms to political candidates, not calling for a NEC meeting for over a year and breach of the party’s constitution.

    He also accused the duo of running a two-man show and mismanaging the party’s funds.

    However, Omisore, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, described Lukman as a loose canon and the “black sheep” of the party.

    The national secretary also labeled Lukman as a gaslighter who likes to cry wolf where there was none.

    Omsore said: none. “What else do you want us to do to him – beat or kill him? When you listen to people like Lukman, you won’t know what is happening. This is your Lukman that doesn’t attend meetings. He is acting like a loose Canon.

    “The NWC members are 25 and only one person, Lukman, has written so many letters, which bothered on ignorance on his part. About two months ago, he came to apologise and held a press conference to say he wasn’t well informed about what he did. All he said were things done within the party. He never attends party meetings,

    “We are not aware of any plot to remove Abdullahi Adamu as APC chairman. But know that they are cowards too. There are cowards everywhere. So it is not impossible. But the point is that out of 25 members of the NWC, only one person is the ‘black sheep.’

    “He is just used to doing the rantings. There is nothing special about it. This was somebody who came to apologise openly at a press conference. How can you take someone like that seriously?”

     

  • APC vice chairman, Lukman wants Adamu, Omisore removed from their positions

    APC vice chairman, Lukman wants Adamu, Omisore removed from their positions

     

    The National Vice Chairman, North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Salihu Lukman has called for an emergency national convention where a new national leadership of the party would be elected.

    Lukman made this known  via a statement issued on Friday where he called for the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

    Lukman further clarified that the purpose of the National convention is to ensure that the North-Central position in the party could be retained.

    He said the current National Chairman has done an excellent job to manage a successful campaign to win the 2023 election with all the attendant challenges, there should be no difficulty in convincing Adamu to resign as National Chairman to create an opportunity for a new National Chairman of APC to emerge who is a Christian.

    Lukman noted: “For that to happen, it may require an Emergency National Convention because if the hierarchy of the current leadership is to be followed, the successor to Sen. Adamu will be Sen. Abubakar Kyari who is a Muslim from the North-East.”

    He pointed out that apart from changing the National Chairman, there was the need to also recognise the case of the National Secretary of the party, saying he has become a source of stronger dispute in Osun State.

    The party Chieftain said rather than serving as a unifying factor for the party leadership in Osun State, Omisore is more of a divisive factor, which might have been responsible for why APC lost the 2022 governorship election to a political mediocre whose only qualification in politics may appear to be a comic dancing skill.

    Lukman said to save Osun State and bring it back to its old standard of national political reckoning, Omisore would need to resign as National Secretary of APC, and a new unifying National Secretary elected.

    He pointed out that beyond Omisore, any member of the National Working Committee of the party who is not a unifying leader in his/her state should be changed.

    “For that to happen may require an Emergency National Convention because if the hierarchy of the current leadership is to be followed, the successor to Sen. Adamu will be Sen. Abubakar Kyari who is a Muslim from North-East,” Lukman stated.