Salihu Lukman, the vice-chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in North-West Nigeria, has provided an explanation for the Labour Party’s growing popularity.
According to Lukman, this is because Nigerians are dissatisfied with the current political parties, including his own APC.
In a statement released to journalists on Tuesday, Lukman outlined his position.
He believes that Nigerians have grown tired of the ruling APC’s apparent stagnation and lack of innovation, prompting them to seek out a party with a dynamic, functional structure.
“In addition to these organs (NAC, NEC, and national caucus), the amended APC constitution established three new structures: the women’s wing, the youth wing, and the persons living with disabilities wing,” he explained.
“Outside of the initiatives of the presiding officers of these three structures—since April 2022, following the assumption of office of the Sen. Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC, nothing has been done to organise the women’s, youth, and persons living with disabilities wings.”
Lukman cited the Labour Party’s success in the 2023 elections as evidence of Nigerians’ dissatisfaction with the current political climate.
“The popularity of the Labour Party during the 2023 elections is partly a reflection of Nigerians’ frustration with our political parties, including the APC,” Lukman said.
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“Nigerians seek parties with vibrant structures whose internal debates and contests will aggregate Nigerians’ diverse interests.”
He also suggested that as long as the APC remains a “closed structure,” President Bola Tinubu may struggle to secure the necessary political legitimacy to win Nigerians’ support, particularly when it comes to implementing difficult policy choices.
“There is no doubt that difficult decisions must be made in order to effectively address our nation’s challenges.” However, taking those difficult decisions will be much easier to implement if the government can win Nigerians’ support through engagements with organised groups,” he added.
