We don’t need a rugged captain to rule for 40 years, APC chieftain replies Sheriff

The Director General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not need a “rugged captain” to remain in power for 40 years.

A former governor of Borno State and APC national chairmanship contender, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, had told newsmen a few days ago in Abuja, that the party, which he said aspires to remain in power for the next 40 to 50 years needed a “rugged captain”.

But while featuring on an AIT programme, JIGSAW, where he expounded on his new book, “APC Litmus Test”, Lukman said only Nigerians who are eligible to vote can determine the APC’s chances of governing for those number of years.

“The other issue is how the party organises itself. We can’t have a party where for instance, I have seen recently somebody aspiring for national chairmanship of the party saying the party needs a tough person to rule up to 40 years.

“That is not how a progressive should be thinking, a progressive should be thinking of how to endear himself to the citizens, it is not a question of how long you rule but how you are able to constantly endear yourself to the citizens.

“If you say you want to rule for 40 years, it is a question of going to lobby citizens to vote you. This is where we are coming from in terms of manipulating elections and what have you and these are the brutal issues in terms of politics in Nigeria which will take time to change. It is not a one day thing, it is a life journey and we have to embark on that journey,” he said.

He charged the new crop of the National Working Committee (NWC) who would emerge at the forthcoming national convention to ensure a membership data that is computerised.

“We can’t continue to have a situation where our membership data is not electronically preserved. We must ensure that our membership data is updated electronically without the tedious process of handling it in an analog way,” he said.