‘Why APC, PDP may end up with misfits as presidential aspirants’

Presidency hopeful wants Feb 26 convention postponed to avert implosion

Former Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Dr. Salihu Lukman, has expressed concern over the prospect of having misfits ending up as presidential flag bearers of both the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This was contained in a write-up, titled: ‘Politics of 2023 and Negotiation for Quality Leadership,’ made available to reporters in Abuja yesterday.

Blaming the absence of a level playing field in the leading political parties for the situation, the APC chieftain remarked that the emergence of Committee 2022, initiated by Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, presents an opportunity to critically assess the capacity of political parties to serve as effective and competent negotiating platforms for the emergence of ‘quality leadership’ in Nigeria.

He said: “There are many leaders across the country in both PDP and APC, who could have qualified to emerge as candidates with all the ‘quality leadership’ credentials being envisioned with reference to any leadership qualification.

“But absence of level playing field in our parties is discouraging these individuals from presenting themselves for consideration. This is partly responsible for why, across every part of the country and in virtually all our political parties, the most qualified candidates for ‘quality leadership’ are hardly in the race for 2023 contests.”

He asked: “How is the ‘association’ going to open up the space within our major political parties to ensure that the best and most qualified ‘quality leaders’ are in the race for 2023 electoral contests?

“It is one thing to contest and win elections, it is another entirely to manage leadership based on capacity to initiate strategic development initiatives. Part of the sad reality is that many of those who have declared their ambition for 2023 are only animated, going round the country holding meetings with so-called party leaders.

“Many of them are simply positioning themselves to harvest victory out of current challenges facing the country. It is so pathetic that so-called leaders of PDP for instance, who have had the opportunity of managing this country for 16 years without anything to show as development legacy, are going round the country talking of how they intend to rescue the country.

“It clearly suggests a push to ensure that the contest for 2023 is founded based on falsehood. Once any candidate conducts his/her campaigns based on falsehood, such a candidate must be disqualified from being considered as a ‘quality leader.’

“Both APC and PDP leaders, and indeed every politician, across all political parties must be made to organise their campaigns based on honesty. Requirement for honesty during campaigns should ensure that all candidates, who merit being recognised as ‘quality leaders’, must accept challenges, take responsibility and in cases where they fail, accept their shortcomings.”

MEANWHILE, an APC presidential aspirant, Alhaji Adamu Garba, has warned against conducting the party’s national convention on February 26.

Speaking to reporters in Abuja, he argued that he made the call out of a need to save the party from imploding. The Adamawa-born politician said that it would not serve the interest of the party to go ahead with the event amid several unresolved crises among chieftains across the country.

He said it behoves the leadership of the party to avert a scenario where the opposition PDP would cash in on the crisis in the party to emerge victorious in the 2023 poll.

He warned: “If we do not put our house in order and pay serious attention to these contesting interests, we might end up having an implosion. There are other people waiting for this implosion.”