Former Ekiti governor, Kayode Fayemi, said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has metamorphosed into a mere political platform to win elections rather than a “quintessential socio-democratic party” committed to advancing the lots of teeming Nigerians.

“APC has become an election-winning machine rather than an organic party it was envisioned to be,” Mr Fayemi said in a Channels TV interview aired on Thursday. “It was supposed to be a quintessential socio-democratic party, progressive in its ideas in response to the trickle down economics that got us into the mess PDP threw us into in the country.”

The ex-governor’s comment came days after his counterpart Nasir El-Rufai accused APC of abandoning its fundamental ideals, urging the ruling party to commit to addressing the existential challenges in the country.

Mr Fayemi slammed the failure of the party leadership to convene executive meetings since coming to power in 2023, noting it strays away from its constitution.

“The APC must remain the party that drives the government rather than the tail wagging the dog. We have been in office for two years now, won election since March 1st 2023 and our party’s national executive committee has not met once.”

The APC chieftain further emphasised the need for “the ruling party to be fully involved in the review of what the government is doing so as to match its performance with the manifesto espoused to the Nigerian people”.

While commending the Bola Tinubu-led administration for its successes so far, the former governor apologised to Nigerians over the failure of the party to fully fulfil its campaign promises.

“It is a misnomer to talk about speaking truth to power; power knows the truth. Tinubu has done many good things by taking bold decisions many past leaders were afraid of. Yet we must improve in the area of ensuring effective policy frameworks that enable delivery,” Mr Fayemi stressed. 

He added, “We must apologise to the Nigerian people because we have not succeeded in doing all we promised them. We have clearly not done enough to make life abundantly well for Nigerians.”