The Director-General of the umbrella body for Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Progressive Governors Forum, Saliu Moh. Lukman, has said that almost all members are angry with the decision to accept a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, into the party.
The DG, PGF said this in an article, titled: “APC’s High-Profile Membership Recruitment and Issues for 2023.”
Lukman, who said the article was his personal opinion and not that of the PGF or the governors elected on the platform of the APC, wrote: “Late on Thursday, September 16, 2021, reports emerged that Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode had joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) and he was received by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the company of His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, Chairman of the APC Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee and the Governor of Zamfara State, His Excellency, Bello Matawalle.
With the emergence of the report, public attention in the country has been dominated by negative commentaries, mostly from APC members, about why Mr. Fani-Kayode should have been accorded such a high-profile reception.
One of the first people to express disappointment was Sen. Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to President on Political Matters, who lamented that the reception given to Mr. Fani-Kayode makes the day ‘the saddest day of his political career.’ Mr. Joe Igbokwe, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage and Water Resources and former APC Chairman of Lagos State cried that ‘Fani-Kayode is coming to destroy APC’ and expressed ‘sadness that he (Fani-Kayode) who was not coming to add value to the party was given a red-carpet treatment while his (Igbokwe’s) efforts go unappreciated.’
“The issue of Mr. Fani-Kayode joining the APC, first emerged on Monday, February 8, 2021, when his pictures together with HE Mai Mala Buni, Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State appeared in many social media platforms. Many believed that the emergence of the pictures signaled that negotiation is going on, if not concluded, to bring Mr. Fani-Kayode into the APC.
This made many party members to protest that leaders of the party are about to admit Mr. Fani-Kayode into the APC. Partly, on account of the protest, Mr. Fani-Kayode himself denied that he is joining the APC and boasted that he will never do so. The protest against Mr. Fani-Kayode joining the APC has to do with his venomous nature. He abuses, insults, and disparages everybody, almost indiscriminately. As a result, his capacity to build and sustain relationships is short, not just politically, but it also the case almost in every aspect of his life.
“Almost every member of APC is angry that our leaders have brought someone like Mr. Fani-Kayode into our party. This is made worse by the red-carpet reception given to him, which he doesn’t deserve. But since it has happened, there is no need to cry over spilled milk. What is very clear is that our leaders, especially President Buhari have forgiven Mr. Fani-Kayode and embrace him as one of us. As members of APC, our anger with Mr. Fani-Kayode is that he has abused both the APC, President Buhari and virtually every leader of the party. For instance, he claimed that the ‘emergence of Buhari in 2015 annihilated Nigeria and plunged her into darkness, death and destruction. He came to steal, kill and destroy and for the last disastrous 5 years that is all he has done.’ More than this, he has said unprintable things against the APC and all its leaders.
“At this point therefore, if with all these, our leaders can accept Mr. Fani-Kayode into the party, APC members should not be more Catholic than the Pope. Why should APC members be sad that our leaders are magnanimous? Perhaps, because of the red-carpet reception, which many committed APC members cannot even dream of, it should be legitimate to feel unappreciated like Mr. Igbokwe had cried out. But as APC members, especially those that have been in the party since its formation in 2013 and have endured all the challenges of being loyal members, we must always be reminded that our commitment is to contribute in whatever way and manner possible to change Nigeria for the better. If therefore, someone like Mr. Fani-Kayode, who is considered unreliable and therefore not qualified to be a member, would seek for forgiveness from our leaders, based on which they extended their arms to him, members of the APC should also show understanding.
“No doubt, since 2015, there are many opportunistic political leaders in the country who joined our party, got all the welcome reception, like the one given to Mr. Fani-Kayode, but end up betraying and in some instances outrightly undermining our party and our leaders. Understandably therefore, part of the frustration of many APC members is that most times, it could be predicted that our leaders are wrongly investing trust and confidence on wrong people. Contrastingly, those who are consistent and loyal to our party and our leaders hardly gained the deserving respect they should have. This may not necessarily be intended but it is there. Be that as it may, members need to move forward with every confidence and commitment to engage our leaders. If we are to succeed in changing Nigeria, both APC leaders and members must commit themselves to developing strong and functional relationship. Ability to develop strong and functional relationship between APC leaders and members is the foundational requirement for APC leaders to be able to develop strong and functional relationship with Nigerians. This will require that APC members are able to respectfully tell leaders the truth.”
