Why Fani-Kayode is not welcome in APC – PGF chief

The Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Dr. Salihu Lukman, on Friday explained why the All Progressives Congress (APC) members would not warm up to the idea of bringing the former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, to the party.

In a statement titled: “APC and the Question of Values,” which he signed, Lukman said the controversial ex-minister would not be accepted by APC members because he does not share the values the party was built on.

He insisted that Fani-Kayode lacks the rudiments of progressive politics.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain had earlier in the week met the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee, Mala Mai Buni; and the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, in Abuja.

The meeting with the pair fuelled speculations on Fani-Kayode’s imminent return to the party he left in 2014.

The PGF chief said: “The report about the controversial attempt by Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode to join the APC and the insistence by many APC members and leaders that Mr. Fani-Kayode is not welcome to join APC because he doesn’t have the values required to be a member elicited a lot of reactions from Nigerians.

“Dr. Sam Amadi, a good friend of mine argued that ‘APC has no defined values or defining values. ‘APC is a normless contraption like Nigeria.’

READ ALSO: Fani-Kayode explains reason for meeting APC leaders

“Another gentleman, of the platform, Prof. Toyin Falola facilitated- USA Africa Dialogue Series, asked the questions, ‘Are the parties (APC and PDP) anything more than instruments for capturing power?

He also faulted the ex-minister’s approach to politics.

“Often, we use all these aggressive languages to weaken the confidence of people we regard as opponents. It is a universal reality. It is the same strategy used to promote racial and gender inequality.

“Therefore, we can be proud of our identity, our choices, etc. but once we begin to speak to each other in derogatory terms, we lose our humanity. If our politics is defined only in those derogatory terms, then we are as useless as any other leader we seek to condemn. It doesn’t matter our sophistication, qualification, or any quality we chose to claim,” Lukman added.

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