Salihu Mohammed Lukman, a prominent figure within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has raised serious allegations concerning the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.
Lukman, a former APC National Vice Chairman North-West, has cautioned against the pervasive manipulation in the country’s elections, stating that unethical practices heavily influence them.
In a detailed statement, Lukman highlighted the troubling trend of manipulation, including imposition, vote buying, and rigging, deeply embedded within party structures and electoral processes.
He emphasized that the issue of manipulating election results has plagued Nigerian politics since the onset of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
Lukman expressed concern over the internal party elections, where aspiring candidates emerge, noting a pattern of manipulation that starts within the party’s ranks.
He pointed out that party leaders often become involved in these manipulative tactics instead of ensuring fair contests shaping the course of elections.
“Party offices are manipulated to be controlled by aspiring candidates. All the problems associated with Nigeria’s national elections become manifest at this point.
“Imposition, vote buying, rigging, etc emerges from this point. Party leaders are produced through these unethical methods, and in return they are expected to produce their sponsors who are the aspirants for elective positions through such methods as party candidates for elections.
“Once they become party candidates for elections, the next task is to use the same methods of manipulating election results to emerge winners.
“Manipulation of political contests through imposition, vote buying, rigging, etc, which begin at the level of producing party leaders grew and sadly become political culture that unethically determines winners of electoral contests,” he stated.
Drawing parallels with past instances that led to the decline of political parties, Lukman cautioned that the APC has also witnessed a negative shift, marked by widespread imposition of candidates.
In a cautionary message directed at APC leaders, especially President Bola Tinubu, Lukman urged against the belief that they could persistently impose their choices on Nigerians.
He stressed the necessity for humility and attentive listening to the concerns of ordinary citizens, warning that failure to heed these calls might perpetuate reliance on unethical practices during political contests.
