Structural Challenges, Not Incompetence, Hindered APC’s Progress says Kayode Fayemi 

A former Ekiti State governor and ex-minister of solid minerals, Kayode Fayemi, has raised concerns over the state of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying it has strayed from its founding principles of being a social democratic party with progressive ideals. In an interview monitored by Radio Now’s Newsdesk, Mr. Fayemi criticised the party for not holding a single National Executive Committee meeting since President Bola Tinubu took office, despite its constitution mandating quarterly meetings.

“This was not the way we envisioned this party. This was to be the quintessential social democratic party, progressive in its ideas in response to the trickle-down economics that got us into the mess that PDP threw us in in this country. And we ought to be doing things differently. And I talked about us ensuring that the party remains a party that drives the government rather than the tail wagging the dog. We have been in office now for two years almost. We’ve won elections since March 1st, 2023. And our party national executive committee has not met once. The constitution of our party is very clear that that body of the party, that organ of the party, meets at least once every quarter. I don’t take the excuse that because the president is unavailable, he’s busy. The president would always be busy. The president can delegate.”

Fayemi rejected the excuse that the president’s unavailability was to blame, arguing that party matters should not be neglected and can be managed through delegation. 

“Oh, clearly we all have reasons. We must apologize to the Nigerian people. We have not succeeded in achieving everything we promised to Nigerian people.And that’s not just because we were incompetent, but because there were other structural impediments that have made things more difficult for us. But clearly we haven’t done enough to make life abundant for the Nigerian people. And for that, I clearly would not hesitate to apologize to the Nigerian people for that. We can do a lot more. Apology, well, it may give you a feel-good factor, a feel-good vibes or feelings, but that’s not really what we need. We need to get our act together, all of us who consider ourselves leaders in that space, because if we don’t, the risk we run is higher than the returns we’re going to get.”

The former governor also offered an apology to Nigerians for unfulfilled promises made during his tenure, acknowledging that the party’s shortcomings were not merely due to incompetence but also due to structural challenges. He said the obstacles had hindered the APC’s ability to achieve its objectives.

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Although Fayemi acknowledged President Tinubu’s positive actions, he emphasised that good intentions alone are not enough for effective leadership, and more substantial measures must be taken to address the issues facing the country.

“President Bola Amed Sinubu has done many good things. We all must acknowledge that he’s been bold to take on some of the most difficult decisions that previous leaders have been reluctant to take on. The fallout of those decisions have cost us huge costs of living crisis. And you know what I’m talking about. Wealth subsidy removal, convergence of the foreign currency. However, he’s well-meaning. But well-meaning is not enough in leadership. Intentionality is critical to success. And it’s done. Whether you talk about student loan or you talk about the several efforts around resisting insurgency, taming insecurity, tax policy reforms, increased revenue into the federal coffers. Clearly, some of those elements are there, but they need to come together. And this is where effective policy framework will go side by side.”