A presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress(APC), in the 2023 presidential election, Pastor Tunde Bakare delivered a scathing critique of the party during a State of the Union address held at the Citadel Global Community Church on Sunday.
He accused the APC of losing its founding ideals and becoming a platform for politicians without ideology or conviction.
Pastor Bakare, a key figure in the formation of the APC, expressed his concerns about the party’s transformation, stating, “At this juncture, I must also send a warning to the ruling party. I was there when the APC was formed, and the extent of my involvement is well documented. As a stakeholder and, more importantly, as a nation builder, I’m obligated to state without equivocation that this is not the APC we envisaged.”
He pointed to the dwindling support base of the APC in recent elections, highlighting a significant decline in the party’s popularity. He said, “The results of the last elections were a clear indication that Nigerians are fed up with what the APC has become. According to the results released by INEC in the presidential elections, the APC had 15.4 million votes in 2015, 15.2 million votes in 2019. But by the 2023 elections, the APC support base had declined significantly to 8.8 million, with a loss of almost half of the traditional support base.”
Pastor Bakare emphasized that the APC’s victory in the 2023 elections was only possible due to divisions within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the emergence of the opinion movement of the Labour Party (LP) that split the traditional support base of the PDP. He noted that the party’s victory was currently being challenged in court.
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“The results of the last elections were a clear indication that Nigerians are fed up with what the APC has become. According to the results released by INEC in the presidential elections, the APC had fifty 15.4 million votes in 2015, 15.2 million votes in 2019. But by the 2023 elections, the APC support base had declined significantly to 8.8 million with a loss of almost half of the traditional support base.
“If it were not for the divisions within the People’s Democratic Party PDP and the emergence of the opinion movement of the Labour Party (LP) that split the traditional support base of the PDP, the APC would have convincingly lost the 2023 elections. Even now the party’s victory, as announced by the independent National Electric Electoral Commission in it, is being challenged in court.
Reflecting on the party’s original vision, Pastor Bakare lamented, “When I consider the vision and founding spirit that birthed the APC, I cannot but conclude that the APC is losing the plot. The APC party, with clear motivations, was established as a progressive party to establish true nationhood, eliminate corruption, oversee governance, implement structural reforms, eradicate poverty, and facilitate economic growth.”
He criticized the current state of the APC, likening it to its predecessor, the PDP, stating that it had become a platform for politicians lacking conviction and ideology, who jump from party to party in pursuit of power.
“However, like its predecessor the PDP, the APC has now become a platform for politicians who have neither conviction nor ideology and who hove from party to party seeking power at all cost. The suffering meted out to the Nigerian people as a result of anti-people policies is not what the APC once stood for.
Pastor Bakare asserted that the suffering experienced by the Nigerian people due to anti-people policies was not in line with the original ideals of the APC. He reminded listeners that the party was founded on progressivism, which prioritizes equity, justice, inclusiveness, and substantial public investments in social sectors such as education and healthcare.
He emphasized that progressivism was not built on trickle-down economics but focused on grassroots-oriented policies that empower local opportunities and build the economy from the bottom up.
“The APC stood for Progressivism and Progressivism is characterized by substantial public investments in social sectors such as education and healthcare, and it achieves inclusiveness and social mobility by deploying political power to provide an irreducible minimum standard of living for citizens.
“Progressivism prioritizes equity, justice, and inclusiveness in access to opportunities while it facilitates a private sector-led economy is economic growth policies and empowering the people by redistributing opportunities on the basis of fairness and equity.
“Progressivism is not built on trickle-down economics. Instead, it is grassroots-oriented, invests in local opportunities, and builds the economy from the bottom up.