ABUJA, Nigeria – The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress, APC, has worsened as Dr. Salihu Lukman, the party’s National Vice Chairman, North-west, accused Senator Abdulahi Adamu, the National Chairman, and Senator Iyiola Omisore, the National Secretary, of squandering N30 billion collected from the sales of forms for the 2023 elections.
In a statement on Friday, June 16, 2023, titled ‘Rebuilding the APC to Reform Nigerian Politics: Task Before President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’, Lukman accused Adamu of irresponsible financial management of the party and emphasized the absence of a defined funding framework.
He urged party leader President Tinubu to prioritize rebuilding the APC in line with its founding vision and the party’s constitution.
The Vice Chairman expressed concern that the party’s Board of Trustees, now known as the National Advisory Council, NAC, had never been constituted since the party’s formation in 2013.
Moreover, lower organs of the party such as Zonal Executive Committees, Zonal Congresses, Working Committees, Executive Committees, Congresses at states, local governments and wards, also face similar issues.
Lukman revealed that the National Executive Committee (NEC), the principal executive body of the party, had not been meeting quarterly as stipulated under the APC constitution.
According to him, less than ten meetings had been held when there should have been at least 30.
The Vice Chairman also noted that the management of the party has been left to the discretion of Adamu, who involves members of the National Working Committee, NWC, only when it suits him.
He accused Adamu of running the party affairs like a “garrison commander,” manipulating party decisions to suit personal vested interests, and being highly unaccountable.
Lukman criticized Adamu and Omisore’s alleged reckless financial management of the party, saying they spent the funds from the 2023 elections sales extravagantly without a budget as required by the APC constitution.
Furthermore, the duo did not provide financial reports to anyone, including the NWC, he said.
He finally urged the APC to respond to Nigerians’ expectations and start addressing their frustrations, thus preventing citizens from falling victim to the manipulation of political opportunists during electoral contests.
He said this would be the minimum requirement to ignite and trigger deeper political reform under President Tinubu’s leadership.
