APC is platform for personal ambition, not political party – Olawepo-Hashim

By Lateef Ibrahim

Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a prominent figure in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has labelled the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a cult-like group devoid of democratic principles.
Speaking on AIT’s Democracy Today and later at a media session in Abuja over the weekend, the former presidential candidate said the ruling party operates without ideology or internal democracy.
He said the APC operates in a way where decisions come from just one or two people, and everyone else follows without question, making it function more like a cult than a political party.
Olawepo-Hashim accused the APC of driving Nigeria into economic hardship and worsening insecurity.
He noted that although the APC came to power on the promise of change, what they delivered was a collapse of Nigeria’s GDP from over 570 billion dollars in 2014 to under 300 billion dollars in 2025,.
He said it signifies the fall in GDP per capita from above 3,000 dollars to below 1,000, and an escalation of insecurity that spread beyond the north-east to the north-west, north-central, and south-east.
He argued that unlike the APC, the PDP still allows open debates and internal disagreements that shape its decisions.
“The APC functions solely as a platform for personal ambition and the pursuit of power, whereas the PDP, despite its internal disagreements and reconciliations, remains the only party where debates within the party shape real decisions.”
Citing the recent solidarity visit of PDP governors to Zamfara in support of the national chairman, Umar Damagum, he said it was a beautiful show of unity.
According to him, it’s a clear sign that PDP’s tradition of internal dialogue is alive.
He recalled the PDP’s internal contest in 2003, stating that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had to face competitive primaries despite being an incumbent.
“As a NEC member in 1999, I witnessed how the PDP held President Obasanjo accountable to the party. In 2003, despite being president, he faced primaries against leaders like Alex Ekwueme, Barnabas Gemade, and Abubakar Rimi. That is democracy.”
He urged Nigerians to demand stronger political institutions as the 2027 elections approach.