Barely two months after National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) came into office, a fresh crisis has erupted over the leadership style of the National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
The crack in the party’s highest administrative organ was contained in a letter by National Vice Chairman, North West, Salihu Mohd Lukman to the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, in Abuja on Saturday.
In the letter dated 27th May 2022 titled: “Rebuilding APC: Need for new Initiatives,” the former Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) stressed the need to take every measure to avoid past pitfalls.
Lukman copied President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Bisi Akande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, Chief Ogbonayan Onu and all the NWC members.
He alleged that the new NWC under Adamu is gradually toeing the old path of the leadership style of Comrade Adams Oshiomole and Hon. Mai Mala Buni where decisions are taken and left unimplemented with members not being carried along.
“Under your leadership, the current NWC is gradually snowballing into similar circumstances whereby decisions are taken are allowed to lay bare and, in some instances, changed without necessarily taking needed steps to carry members along,” he wrote.
Lukman also frowned at the old approach of dropping President Muhammadu Buhari’s name as the sole determinant of crucial activities in the party, arguing that the approach was not only unfair to the President but an attempt to use his name to give excuses for failure when it happens.
He cited the inability of the party to conduct the screening of its presidential aspirants 48 hours before the May 29 special convention and presidential primary.
According to him: “Presidential aspirants are yet to be screened. The official explanation is that you are awaiting final consultation with President Buhari. At the risk of sounding agitated, this is unfair to President Buhari because to the best of my understanding it is an attempt to use the President’s name to give excuses for failure, if it happens, which should not be the case.”
The three-page letter reads: “I find it necessary to send this letter to further appeal to you to review our approaches under the current National Working Committee (NWC) under your leadership. It is now two months since we came into office and you have so far raised a lot of expectations given that some of the problems, which undermined the support base of previous leadership, would appear to have been minimised.
“For instance, meetings of the NWC are now held almost every week. Members participate actively and where necessary engage and contest issues. It is to your credit that you accept the positions of members even when you disagree. This is a remarkable departure from what was obtained in the past where the National Chairman conduct meetings of party organs as Chief Executive and to that extent, therefore, exercises prerogatives and overrules members.
“The big challenge is ensuring that decisions taken are faithfully and implemented. The inability of previous leadership under His Excellency. Adams Oshiomhole and His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni to implement decisions taken were partly responsible for the leadership crisis that confronted the party. Under your leadership, the current NWC is gradually snowballing into similar circumstances whereby decisions are taken are allowed to lay bare and, in some instances, changed without necessarily taking needed steps to carry members along.
“No doubt, given all the challenges inherited and coming at a time when it’s extremely difficult to control events and almost everything would appear to have been set against the party and its leadership, we need to take every measure to avoid past pitfalls,” he further wrote.