By Jude Opara, Abuja
A former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Arch. Waziri Bulama has advised the party to make haste to return to its ideals which he said is purely based on the people if it must win the 2027 presidential election.
Bulama who spoke in an exclusive interview with Peoples Daily said over time, the party derailed and lost its sense of identity a reason he alleged that many analysts both within and outside the party now believe that there is no difference between the APC and the former ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party chieftain who was one of the foundation members of the party also said that the derailment started with the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari whom he accused of jettisoning the party’s manifesto to run what he described as a “Buhai government”.
He said; “The APC derailed from its founding ideals really, I was one of the people along with many technocrats and scholars from the merger parties that produced the very strong report and argument on the ideology of the party that nobody from any zone with the tag of the identity of Muslim, Christian or Yoruba, or Hausa or Igbo will become president of Nigeria.
“We were careful to avoid the practice in the PDP who inherited government from the military that had the identity of imposition and impunity, so we wanted to address these issues so we had to dissolve and diffuse the identity based political parties like the ACN, the CPC, the ANPP and APGA to form a broad based national and ideological clearly defined party committed to prosperity and accountability and democracy in the country.
“But unfortunately, since APC came into power in 2015, the party had abandoned its ideological identity; under President Buhari, Buhari ran a Buhari government based on his three agenda on corruption, security and economy, he did not really help the growth of the party”.
On the planned e-registration of members of the ruling party, Bulama said it is a right step in the right direction because it will help stabilize the party and bridge the gap between the leaders and members.
According to him, it is only a party that is open and transparent that will appeal to the people to continue to trust it with power.
“The APC must have to find a way to remain strong and cohesive because it is only a broad based and strong party that can win election in Nigeria. If this party suffers to remain a convincing broad based national party, it will lose the presidential election. So with the e-registration, we will be handing the party back to the people who should really own it”.
He further urged Nigerians to continue to trust and support President Bola Tionubu in his quest to reposition the nation’s economy adding that very soon the benefits of the sacrifices of today will begin to manifest.
