‘No Political Party In Nigeria Is Functional’ – Ex-APC Vice Chairman, Salihu Lukman

A former National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) North-West, Salihu Lukman, has asserted that Nigeria lacks a ‘functional’ political party.

This statement was made during an interview with Arise Television on Monday.

According to Lukman, political parties are only active during election periods.

He said, “We need to make our democracy functional, and our democracy cannot be functional if it’s reduced to only periodic elections.

“Elections only take place every four years, and the substantial issue regarding making democracy work is to make elected leaders accountable, representative, and responsive to the interests of Nigerians. This is the core business and function of political parties.

“As of today, none of our parties is functional, and as long as we allow the main business of political parties to produce candidates, things can’t change.”

“The constitution of all parties states that after elections, political parties’ business includes promoting and developing policies of government in such a way that they reflect the party’s manifestos. As of today, the manifestos of political parties in the country are theories.

“There’s hardly any government at the federal and state levels working based on the campaign promises and manifestos of their respective political parties.”