National Convention: APC Chieftain tasks party on leadership recruitment 

To change Nigerian politics positively, the party in government, the All Progressives Congress, APC need to take deliberate steps to recruit trustworthy leaders to manage the party in its forthcoming elective National Convention.

An APC chieftain and immediate past Director-General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Mr. Salihu Lukman, said this in a press statement released to journalists in Abuja.

Mr. Lukman explained that the calibre of leaders that emerge at the APC’s National Convention scheduled for March 26 will determine the quality of candidates that will bear the party’s flag for Nigeria’s 2023 General Election.

He added that APC leaders could start the leadership recruitment by conducting background checks of aspirants and getting current leaders to recount their performance in office.

“We must appeal to all APC leaders, especially Governors, to recognise that the weight of political responsibility of producing new leaders for the APC is a powerful test of whether the party can continue to earn the confidence of Nigerians justifiably. Will leaders, especially Governors, undertake the crucial task of performing background checks for aspiring candidates and dispassionately, even if painfully, select both party leaders and party candidates for elections, beyond loyalty issues? The crucial task before APC leaders is to ensure that the leadership selection process produces trustworthy leaders both as party leaders and as candidates for elections. 

“In fact, the quality of party leaders will substantially determine the quality of candidates the party will present for elections. Once party leaders make the mistake of producing Bureau De Change managers as APC leaders during March 26, 2022, National Convention, the probability will be very high that there will be many bad eggs emerging as standard-bearers of the party for the 2023 elections. 

“Therefore, starting with the March 26, 2022, APC National Convention, APC leaders, especially Governors should show stronger commitment towards recruiting tested and trustworthy leaders. As much as possible, situations whereby good leaders only emerge ‘accidentally’ must be reversed in Nigeria-based on carefully planned initiatives under the APC. As part of planning for the emergence of trustworthy leaders’ issues of getting current leaders to account for their actions or inactions will be necessary,” Lukman said.

The APC chieftain noted that leadership selection in Nigerian political parties is characterised by “last-minute and impulsive decisions influenced by considerations of factors of loyalties to current leaders,” which, according to him, leads to the emergence of leaders who have little or no capacity to meet public expectations.

Mr. Lukman said that Nigerian democracy would develop when the right conditions within parties are created to emerge trustworthy leaders both as party leaders and candidates for election.