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Tag: Salihu Lukman

  • APC crisis: Fmr DG of Progressives Govs Forum identifies alleged ‘civilian coup’ plotters trying to destabilize convention

    APC crisis: Fmr DG of Progressives Govs Forum identifies alleged ‘civilian coup’ plotters trying to destabilize convention

    …points accusation finger at Govs Bello, Uzodinma, Abiodun

    …demands probe of their involvement

    A former Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr Salihu Lukman, has identified Governors Yahaya Bello, Hope Uzodimma and Dapo Abiodun of allegedly plotting with Mai Mala Buni in the destabilization of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) recalls the ruling party has been in an oscillating mode to conduct a convention without end.

    To worsen the already not too good situation with the party, INEC on Thursday turned down an invitation to conduct the party’s NEC meeting declaring that only Buni and his secretary are qualified to conduct such an emergency NEC.

    But the ex-DG in a statement on Friday without mincing words declared there are identified collaborators with Buni plotting to bring APC to its kneels.

    He warned that the APC stands on the path of losing the next election because of the crisis already crippling its capacity to hold a national convention to elect substantive party officials.

    Lukman stressed that anyone who loves Mai Mala Buni should be more worried about protecting his honour as a political leader by ensuring that he doesn’t become a letdown who stands opposed to the majority decisions of party leaders and members.

    He said if Mai Mala Buni shares the vision of all the founding leaders of the party, he would be willing to make every personal sacrifice to demonstrate his support for the decisions of the party.

    Lukman contrasted Mai Mala Buni to ex-leaders of the APC including Chief Bisi Akande, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Chief Tony Momoh of blessed memory, Chief John Oyegun and Adams Oshiomhole

    His words: “There are known collaborators of His Excellency Mai Mala who have colluded with him to ensure that all attempts to organise the APC National Convention are blocked.

    “Three Governors who are known and must also be called upon to account for their roles in undermining decisions to organise the APC National Convention are His Excellency Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, His Excellency Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and His Excellency Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.

    “There are other party leaders, including Sen Uzo Kalu who have actively supported His Excellency Mai Mala to undermine the decision to organise the National Convention of the party.”

    Lukman stressed that the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for March 17 should initiate processes of a disciplinary hearing in line with provisions of the APC Constitution to sanction all these leaders if found guilty.

  • PGF DG, Lukman confirms resignation, says it is in APC’s best interest

    PGF DG, Lukman confirms resignation, says it is in APC’s best interest

    Dr Salihu Lukman, the Director-General, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), has confirmed his resignation from the position, saying it is in the best interest of the APC.

    Lukman, who was rumoured to have tendered his resignation on Monday, confirmed this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    He said that he resigned to enable him continue his campaign to return the APC to its founding vision adding that his sudden resignation will not affect the campaign.

    “My decision to resign my position is to enable me continue with the campaign to return APC to its founding vision, which is to build a party that is not only democratic, but oriented based on social democratic principles.

    “Since the news filtered out on Monday, Jan. 17, about my resignation as Director-General of PGF, many party leaders, friends, family members and well wishers have reached out to me with words of support and encouragement.

    “Many people, especially journalists wanted confirmation. I can confirm that it is true; I have given my resignation to forum chairman, Gov. Atiku Bagudu.

    “I restrained myself from making any public statement on the matter because I am still awaiting acceptance,” he said.

    Lukman said he had however privately confirmed his resignation to party leaders, friends and family members who called him to enquire.

    He noted that since the buildup to 2019 general elections, internal contest in the APC began to degenerate as some of its leaders became intolerant.

    He said every campaign to get the party’s leadership to commence the process of internal reform was resisted.

    This, he said, was especially as some party leaders in the bid to emerge as its candidates for offices, became hostile while party campaigns drifted to almost war situations in many instances.

    “Organs of the party stopped meetings as required by the Constitution, views of party leaders became decisions of the party.

    “Thank God, we have a leader in President Muhammadu Buhari who disagreed with what is going on in the party and support the campaign for reform.

    “Without going into all the details, the inspiration to setup the current Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) came from Buhari based on the expectation of ensuring that the drift in the party is arrested.

    “This is expected to produce a new leadership, which should emerge at the party’s National Convention,” Lukman said.

    He added that once the CECPC began to show signs of reluctance to organise the convention, it should be a source of concern to all party members desirous of reform.

    He said following the news of his resignation, many of the party’s leaders and members, including Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu called to express worries.

    “One of the party leaders who honoured me with an invitation to meet him late on Tuesday, Jan. 17, was Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    “He commended me for championing the campaigns to reform the party and expressed shock that some members of forum were intolerant to criticism.

    “He encouraged me to continue with my campaign, which is what the party need,” Lukman said.

    He added that while it was good that the party’s CECPC had announced Feb.26 as date for the convention, party leaders should ensure that those who emerged from the exercise were tolerant to criticism.

    “The next task before all party leaders is to ensure the new leadership of the party to emerge from the National Convention will be tolerant to criticism, democratic and more importantly share the commitments of the founding leaders to build a truly progressive party,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PGF is an umbrella body of serving governors elected on the platform of the APC.

  • PGF boss, faults campaign for postponement of APC National Convention

    PGF boss, faults campaign for postponement of APC National Convention

    Dr Salihu Lukman, Director-General, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), has described the call for the postponement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention by some persons from February to a later date as illogical.

    Lukman said this in a letter to APC leaders on Monday in Abuja while reacting to the development.

    Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu had on Dec. 13, 2021, written a letter to the Chairman, APC Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning (CECPC) Gov. Mai Mala Buni, calling for the postponement of the convention.

    Lukman, however, warned that postponing the APC national convention could led to a repeat of 2019 Zamfara experience if the needful was not done.

    He said the APC CECPC should make a formal announcement about the date and venue for the convention to disassociate itself from such calls.

    He said such announcement is critical to prove that the committee is not interested in postponing the convention from the agreed February 2022 date as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Statutorily, by the requirement of the Electoral Act, the party is expected to serve at least 21 days notice of the convention to the Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC).

    “This basically means that if the convention is to hold any day before February 28, 2021, the notice to INEC should be given on or before February 7, 2022.

    “That being the case, the temptation could be to argue that there is more time, some reminders would be necessary at this point,” Lukman said.

    He noted that Buni had done an excellent job since he emerged as chairman of the CECPC in June 2020 by ensuring peace within the party and should not allow his good works to be destroyed by postponing the convention.

    He called on APC leaders to wake up to their responsibility of providing the needed political leadership to the country.

    “No one should imagine that agendas set in 2014 or 2019 are sufficient to respond to contemporary challenges, which post 2023 governance will be expected to respond to.

    “If anything, it may also be important to emphasis the fact that to respond to contemporary challenges facing the country would require massive investment in human capital development.

    “This will call for a deliberate and aggressive policy to mobilise large-scale public investment to rebuild public schools at all levels.

    “The correlation between collapse of education since the mid 1980s, rising levels of unemployment and insecurity are very glaring,” he said.

    Lukman said APC must come up with practically convincing answers, which should form the basis of public support by Nigerians to guarantee its victory in the 2023 elections.

    He said the inability to discharge responsibility or avoid it by towing the path of a deceptive campaign for postponement of the party’s national convention could only spell doom for it.

    He added that this could also return Nigeria to the hands of those who laid the foundation for all the challenges currently facing the country.

    Lukman appealed to the APC CECPC to ensure that the February 2022 convention is not just about electing National Working Committee (NWC) members for the party.

    “There must be some reflections about the challenges facing the country, with priority focus on problems of insecurity, rebuilding public education and health through mobilisation of massive financial investment in these sectors,” he said.

  • Why Fani-Kayode’s ‘defection’ to APC was rejected – Progressive Governors DG

    Why Fani-Kayode’s ‘defection’ to APC was rejected – Progressive Governors DG

    The Director General of the Progressive Governor’s Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh. Lukman has said the rejection of former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from defecting to the party despite meeting with the party leadership is an attestation of the strong internal democratic culture of the party.

    In a statement titled “APC, and the Question of Values” on Friday in Abuja on Friday, Lukman said the fact that members were able to reject Fani-Kayode’s attempt to join the party meant the APC has values.

    Lukman who is a Chieftain of the ruling party commended the internal democratic credentials of the ruling party, which he said is lacking in the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “Again, we are as a party debating the issue of who should join our party or not represent the qualitative difference between the APC and PDP. If it were PDP, once the National Chairman of the party act on a matter and backed by a serving governor, members can only grumble.

    “I am proud to have my voice guaranteed and affirmed by my leaders in APC. As an employee of Governors, it has been a privileged opportunity to speak out openly on matters within the purview of leadership initiative. Rather than my leaders, including our Governors, relating to me as a subordinate who should only take instructions, they recognise and respect my views as a loyal member of the party.”

    He further said, “The issue of Mr Fani-Kayode’s drifted attempt to join the APC is a clear instance of attempts to manipulate some of our leaders into accepting membership of someone who ought not to have been considered a member of our party. If that was the case in the past, it is better late than never to correct such a mistake.

    “As party members, we were able to rise up to the challenge of engaging our leaders. Fortunately, we are able to gain the respect of our leaders and surely, moving forward, issues of who qualifies to be a member of our party will be clarified unambiguously. Maybe this could challenge the PDP and other parties in Nigeria to begin to address issues related to their failings.”

  • Edo Poll: Oshiomhole attacks Progressives Governors DG, calls him pig, empty brain

    Edo Poll: Oshiomhole attacks Progressives Governors DG, calls him pig, empty brain

    Former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole on Monday fired back at the Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, likening him to a pig and an empty brain.

    Recall that Lukman had recently told Oshiomhole to take the back seat while the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu markets himself to the electorates. The DG said the Edo campaign was appearing more like a contest between Governor Godwin Obaseki and Oshiomhole.

    Responding, Oshiomhole said: “lt takes an empty brain to suggest that I only want to stage a come back to become the national chairman. For what? To go and do a reset?

    He added that his central role in the ongoing campaign for the election of APC governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, had nothing to do with such interest.

    “So my attitude is not to reply the noise and it is coming from somebody who says he is an employee and appointee of Progressives Governors Forum.

    “He is just like the cowards that are using him that are not able to come out.

    “Otherwise, you should ask this guy, who is now an election expert. He contested for Senate against Makarfi, he lost.

    “He even contested against governor El-Rufai during the primaries and he lost, before Bagudu unilaterally appointed him the DG.

    “So, if he is now the spokesman abusing me and all of that, you want to drag me to his level? No!

    “A gentleman does not wrestle with a pig, if you do you will always be stained and I don’t want to get into that.

    “You want me to engage in a fight with a pig? If you engage in a fight with a pig, the pig already is stained by its nature and you will wear your white garment, and in my own case, khaki to go and wrestle with a pig? I will not.”

    “You see, what I want the media to interrogate is: When I was removed as national chairman, Edo was APC. So do I have to win Edo to become the chairman?

    “Do I look so unemployed? I’m 68.

    “So, what they don’t understand is that, it is not the office of chairman that made me who I am.

    “It is my pedigree from my days as labourer in the textile industry to be the general secretary of textile workers all over Nigeria and becoming the president of NLC.”