Ex-minister Ikimi: Some Forces Converted APC Into A Structure Not In Best Interest Of Nigeria

Tom Ikimi, a former foreign minister and founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that after the party was created, it was taken over by some forces and changed into a structure that was not beneficial to the nation.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman Ikimi reportedly said this during a stakeholders’ meeting in Benin City, Edo State, on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
According to him, the APC was intended to serve as a rival to the previous ruling PDP when it was founded, with the goal of imitating the two-party system that is in place in the US and the UK.

Ikimi claims that the APC is now frantically trying to crush the opposition party and establish a one-party dictatorship.
He stated, “I believe that certain forces took control of the APC and changed it into a structure that was not optimal for our country.” We have all seen their operations thus far and the devastation we are seeing.

Now, that party (APC) is made up of individuals with only selfish goals.

It appears that all that is being offered to us at this time are desperate attempts to dismantle the PDP in order to turn the nation into a one-party dictatorship, notwithstanding the serious challenges that our nation faces under the APC. The survival of the PDP is, in my opinion, the only viable path ahead for our nation at this time.

Ikimi bemoaned the fact that individual aspirations were undermining the PDP’s unity and power in the South-South area when discussing the party’s continuing issue.

He claims that the intense attack is the reason why PDP members in Delta State have defected to the APC.

Read Also: Nigeria Missing In List Of Countries Eligible To Enter US Without Visas For 90 Days

He went on to say, “This stakeholders gathering is really crucial. It sends a very strong and dynamic message to the nation about Edo State’s PDP. Recently, the APC has launched a fierce onslaught on the South South Region.

“The defection of our Delta State Governor to the APC, along with that of his predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has been reported in the press,” I said. I know how we in the PDP went about giving Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori our party’s ticket and his predecessor the vice presidential ticket.

All I can say at this point is that it is really too early to feel too sorry for anything. Since the PDP lost Delta badly to Senator Peter Obi of the Labour Party in 2023—a candidate who did not yet have a governor—it is not out of place to state that Delta residents have not yet spoken out.