Salihu Lukman, former PGF DG, slams Buni over leadership crisis in APC

Salihu Lukman, the former Director-General, Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), has berated the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Mai Mala Buni, who is also the Yobe State Governor.

He blamed the governor for the leadership crisis bedeviling the party.

Lukman issued this critique on Wednesday during an interview on AriseTV monitored by Ripples Nigeria.

This was in the aftermath of the leadership crisis rocking the party which saw the Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, presiding over a meeting of the APC-CECPC, at the National Secretariat of the party, on Monday.

Bello clarified that he had been acting as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee “for a while now”.

“Acting chairman, I have been acting for a while since the chairman travelled,” he said when asked if he has taken charge of the party.

However, the CECPC National Publicity Secretary, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, said no leadership change had been effected in the Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party.

READ ALSO: PDP warns APC aspirants against contesting under current ‘illegal CECPC’

In his statement during the interview in the wake of the events, Lukman blamed Buni for the degeneration within the party ranks while exonerating President Muhammadu Buhari of any wrongdoing.

“We must separate fiction from facts due to conflicting reports over Buni’s position as the CECPC leader.

“If he is truly acting as the secretary of the committee, he should be able to moderate but if he stormed out, it means he is not in control.

“My opinion is that there is a contest going on within the party and at the end of the day, there must be a winner and the person will be saddled with the responsibility.

“The victor will have to eventually ensure a very fair national convention with the 2023 elections in view.

“There is no need for such a large number of sub-committees which was a recipe for failure due to contending interests but it is note-worthy that these are still allegations which must be defended by Buni.

“What is happening is that Buni has audaciously taken steps based on the trust President Buhari wielded in him since the President doesn’t micromanage people. I have argued severally that Buhari’s mandate is not to micromanage the party leadership and affairs.

“In this issue, the President did the best he could in the sense that he allowed the party leadership run the affairs without interference. The President didn’t not give the orders being reported by the media; of course, he might have responded to allegations and agreed that actions had to be taken,” Lukman explained.

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