VAM News Update

Former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has written an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, outlining some recent developments which he claimed have crashed expectations from his government.

Lukman in the letter titled “Disturbing Signals: Open Letter to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, accused the President of imposing a Muslim-Muslim leadership on the party after winning the February 25 polls through the same ticket. He noted that Tinubu’s endorsement of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Ajibola Bashiru who are both Muslims as APC’s national chairman and secretary is generating tension among party members and other Nigerians.

Other “disturbing signals” from the current administration he listed include the current exchange rate (Dollar to Naira), fuel pump price, and his choice of ministers among others.

He wrote;

“Your Excellency, I find it very compelling to send this open letter to you because there are disturbing signals, which if not averted could produce bigger problems and irreversibly destroy our electoral viability as a party.

“Without attempting to question your authority and commitment to the wellbeing of Nigeria as a nation, within the short period since May 29, 2023, when you assumed office, there are decisions you took, which are very disturbing to many of us who are loyal party members.

“Rather than even attempting to respond to that challenge and demonstrate that truly we only invoked the Muslim-Muslim ticket as an electoral strategy, in a very insensitive manner we imposed another Muslim-Muslim scenario in the party with the national chairman and national secretary both Muslims.

“And we want to claim we are a progressive party? What is the brand of our progressive politics? Certainly, not the one which Nigerians expect, which endears us to citizens on account of which Nigerians gave us the mandate to manage the affairs of government since 2015. As it is, both as party members and as Nigerians, our expectation from your government has crashed.

“Some of us expect that decisions around the exchange rate will be an integral part of the broader economic policy of the government. Now, it would appear that an isolated decision has been taken to float the Naira without any clear economic policy.

“The consequence is that the Naira is on a downward swing. Combined with the rising cost of transport as a result of the withdrawal of subsidy, the inflationary pressure on the economy is very high. As a result, living conditions are getting worse. At this rate, poverty incidence will be high, beyond any rational expectations.

“The third disturbing signal is the quality of your appointees. Sincerely, Your Excellency, throughout the 2023 electoral campaigns, one of the strong campaign points was that you know how to find talents. When it took you more than eight weeks to nominate your Ministers, the belief was that you are taking your time to identify indisputably proficient people.

“With due respect to all those you nominated, many party members and extension Nigerians were disappointed. It is clear to any discerning mind that political consideration eclipsed any other factor, definitely, no argument about talent can be sustained. As it is, both as party members and as Nigerians, our expectation from your government has crashed.”