APC Is a Cult, Not a Political Party – Ex-Presidential Candidate Declares
By: Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has launched an attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as “a cult rather than a political party.”
OTN News further reports that Olawepo-Hashim, speaking during an appearance on AIT’s Democracy Today and later at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja over the weekend, accused the APC of lacking ideology, internal democracy, and a coherent vision for Nigeria’s future.
According to him, 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 also blamed the APC-led government for presiding over what he described as unprecedented economic decline and worsening insecurity.
“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.
Contrasting the ruling party with the PDP, Olawepo-Hashim argued that the opposition party remains Nigeria’s only “truly democratic platform,” where divergent views and debates shape decisions.
He pointed to the recent display of solidarity in Zamfara, where PDP governors rallied behind the national chairman, Umar Damagum, as proof of a consultative and participatory culture.
He further recalled how, as a NEC member in 1999, the PDP held President Olusegun Obasanjo accountable and subjected him to a competitive primary election in 2003 against leaders like Alex Ekwueme, Barnabas Gemade, and Abubakar Rimi. “That is democracy,” he declared.
Calling on Nigerians to demand higher standards of political organisation as the 2027 elections approach, Olawepo-Hashim warned that governance without ideology or accountability cannot deliver prosperity.
“The APC exists purely as a vehicle for personal ambition and power acquisition. The PDP, with its disagreements and reconciliations, is still the only party where internal debates influence outcomes.
“Nigerians must insist on genuine democratic processes if we are to secure better leadership,” he said.
He, however, stressed that political parties must serve as more than election-winning machines, but as institutions capable of producing vision-driven leadership necessary for Nigeria’s development.
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