Former presidential candidate and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has launched a scathing attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as “a cult, not a political party.”
Speaking on AIT’s Democracy Today and later during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja over the weekend, Olawepo-Hashim accused the APC of lacking ideology, internal democracy, and a clear national vision.
“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 declared.
According to him, the APC has presided over unprecedented economic collapse and worsening insecurity across 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 lamented.
Contrasting APC’s governance style with that of the PDP, Olawepo-Hashim described the opposition as Nigeria’s only truly democratic party, where internal debates and divergent opinions guide decision-making.
He cited the recent show of solidarity in Zamfara, where PDP governors rallied behind the party’s National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, as proof of the party’s consultative tradition.
“Everything was beautiful. Even the governors had to persuade NEC. This is the PDP tradition alive again,” he said.
Reflecting on PDP’s history, Olawepo-Hashim recalled how former President Olusegun Obasanjo was subjected to internal party competition in 2003 despite being an incumbent.
“As a NEC member in 1999, I witnessed how the PDP held President Obasanjo accountable. In 2003, despite being president, he still faced primaries against Alex Ekwueme, Barnabas Gemade, and Abubakar Rimi. That is democracy,” he stressed.
He urged Nigerians to demand higher standards of political organization ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that a government without ideology or accountability mechanisms cannot deliver prosperity.
