Politics • Created August 25, 2025 04:27

APC not operating like a political party – Gbenga Hashim

A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a cult, saying its leadership and members are not operating like a political party. He also accused the party of lacking ideology, internal democracy, and a coherent vision for Nigeria’s future. […]

APC not operating like a political party – Gbenga Hashim
APC not operating like a political party – Gbenga Hashim

A former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a cult, saying its leadership and members are not operating like a political party.

He also accused the party of lacking ideology, internal democracy, and a coherent vision for Nigeria’s future.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Hashim alleged that the APC functions more like an authoritarian movement than a democratic platform.

“In the APC, one or two individuals hand down instructions for everyone else to obey like zombies. That is not a political party; it is a cult,” he said.

Hashim argued that the APC has presided over an unprecedented economic decline and expansion of insecurity in the country.

“They promised change, and indeed they brought change by dragging Nigeria’s GDP from over $570 billion in 2014 to less than $300 billion in 2025. They crashed GDP per capita from over $3,000 to below $1,000. They also expanded insecurity from the North East to engulf the North West, North Central and South East,” he said.

Hashim said the opposition remains Nigeria’s truly democratic platform where divergent views and internal debates shape decisions.

But reacting, the APC National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, dismissed the claims as false and without substance, stressing that the APC has neither operated like a cult group nor acted like an authoritarian movement.

He also warned critics to be meticulous in their judgements, stressing that Olawepo-Hashim has lost touch with reality.

Ibrahim argued that no party in power had achieved what the APC-led government had achieved within a short time, especially under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“As a party, the APC has been operating under the tenets and principles of democracy. Everything it does is always transparent, open, and in accordance with the provisions of INEC. There is nothing the APC has done in secret to warrant calling it a secret organisation,” he said.

 

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