The Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has said it will be a gamble for former President Goodluck Jonathan to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on account of the 2023 presidential contest.

Lately, there have been speculations that the former president is plotting to join the ruling party.

Weighing in on the discussion, Secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Sen John James Akpanudoedehe, said Jonathan would be given a waiver to contest the 2023 poll and the status of a founding father of the party if he defects to the ruling party.

But in a statement on Sunday, Salihu Lukman said the APC bigwigs should negotiate to agree on substantive details that can guide the process of decisions of what the party needs to do to win elections in 2023 and especially how the party’s presidential candidate would emerge.

“As APC members, we have campaigned against former President Jonathan in 2015. As President, former President Jonathan made every effort to block the emergence of APC in 2013.”

“But those should not be the reference point. The reference point should be the historic decision of former President Jonathan to concede defeat in 2015 even before the final votes were counted.

“With that, former President Jonathan ranked himself as one of those who fought and defended Nigeria’s democracy. On no account, therefore, any political party should be allowed to push former President Jonathan to diminish his stature, either as an aspirant or a candidate for any office.

“Doing so will mean that we want him to gamble away all his legendary achievements. It is sad enough that PDP leaders, being who they are, don’t recognise and respect former President Jonathan’s deservedly political status.

“The other important issue is managing internal negotiations to agree on substantive details that can guide the process of decisions of what the party needs to do to win elections in 2023. A major issue in this respect is the question of what will guide the emergence of APC presidential candidates for the 2023 elections.

“As party members, we must appeal to our leaders to quietly negotiate this sensitive matter within the structures of APC. It is worrisome when some of our party leaders partner with some PDP leaders to start public advocacy for power shift.

“The other important issue is managing internal negotiations to agree on substantive details that can guide the process of decisions of what the party needs to do to win elections in 2023. A major issue in this respect is the question of what will guide the emergence of APC presidential candidates for the 2023 elections.

“As party members, we must appeal to our leaders to quietly negotiate this sensitive matter within the structures of APC. It is worrisome when some of our party leaders partner with some PDP leaders to start public advocacy for power shift,” he said.

TodayNG