APC stakeholders slam govs over Lukman’s resignation

OBIORA IFOH , Abuja

Concerned stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) under the aegis of APC Rebirth Group have condemned governors of the party for instigating the resignation of its Director General of the forum Salihu Moh. Lukman.

PGF Director General on Monday submitted his resignation to the Chairman of the forum.

Responding to the development Tuesday in Abuja, the APC stakeholders in a statement signed by Engr. Aliyu Audu, said there was nothing progressive about the action of the progressive governors.

According to him, the stakeholders received with sadness, the news of the resignation of Mallam Lukman, who they said was a moral compass for the party.

“While we hail Lukman for his decision to tender his resignation as the honourable thing to do in the present circumstance, we are not unaware of the fact that the governors of the All Progressives Congress at their meeting on Sunday orchestrated the resignation over his position on the state of affairs of the APC, and particularly his calls for the conduct of the national convention which is long over due.

“Our disappointment is in the fact that a party that prides itself as a progressive party, more so governors elected under its platform, would be so intolerant to opinions that are not in agreement with their desires.

“We are however not in the least surprised. When we started our campaign for the rebirth of the party as a way to address the obvious nosedive occasioned by the way past and current handlers were managing affairs, we were not only barred from using the party secretariat for any of our activities, members of the group were barred from entering the secretariat.

“Only recently, attempts were made to dissuade invited guests from attending the APC Stakeholders Summit we held at the Shehu Musa Yaradua Centre in Abuja. Where that failed, they sent no less than 20 hoodlums to the venue to disrupt the event. In any case, they failed again”, he stated.

He said just like the APC Rebirth Group, Lukman shares a deep concern about the state of affairs of the party.

“Not only has he courageously and consistently identified the problems, he has made far reaching recommendations on how best to navigate the booby traps set before the party, but rather than heed his calls, the governors of the APC mounted pressure on him to throw in the towel.

“It is illogical that the attempt to stifle freedom of expression is being promoted by elected executives in a democracy, more so in a party that is said to be progressive. This is not only a sad reminder of our anti-democratic experiences, it also points to the need to elect individuals with requisite intellect and maturity who are able to embrace opposing views and extract the substance therein without recourse to any manner of witch-hunt.

“Without gainsaying, there is nothing progressive about the actions of our present leaders in the APC who are behind all the plots to silence constructive opposing views.”

Having now resigned his appointment, the group said Lukman has freed himself from the shackles the position of the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum placed on him.

“He is now at liberty, more than ever before, to continue his constructive engagement on behalf of millions of APC members who count on the bravery and fair mindedness of people like him.

“The governors and leaders of the party on the other hand have exposed their lack of principle as progressives, their inability to embrace opposing views or even the capacity to make substance from them.”

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