APC not a political party, but a cult – PDP presidential hopeful, Gbenga Hashim

Dr. Gbenga Hashim, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP hopeful has described the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC as a cult and not as a political party they claim to be, “accusing it of lacking ideology, internal democracy, and a coherent vision for Nigeria’s future.”

He stated this while speaking on AIT Democracy Today and later at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja over the weekend, alleging that the APC is structured like an authoritarian movement than democratic platform.

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According to him, few individuals issue instructions for everybody else to obey like zombies, arguing that the APC has presided over an unprecedented economic decline and expansion of insecurity in the country. “That is not a political party, but a cult.”

“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.

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Contrasting the APC with the PDP, Hashim maintained that the opposition remains Nigeria’s “truly democratic party,” where divergent views and internal debates shape decisions.

He cited the recent show of solidarity in Zamfara, where PDP governors rallied behind the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, as evidence of the party’s consultative culture.

“Everything was beautiful. Even the governors had to persuade NEC. This is the PDP tradition alive again,” he noted.

Recalling the party’s history, Hashim pointed to the internal democratic contest in 2003 when then-President Olusegun Obasanjo was subjected to a competitive primary election.

“As a NEC member in 1999, I witnessed how the PDP held President Obasanjo accountable to the party. In 2003, despite being president, he faced primaries against leaders like Alex Ekwueme, Barnabas Gemade, and Abubakar Rimi. That is democracy,” he stressed.

Hashim urged Nigerians to demand higher standards of political organization as the 2027 general elections approach, warning that governance without ideology or accountability structures 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 concluded.

Political parties, he said, must be more than election-winning machines; there should serve as institutions that have capacity of producing vision-driven leadership for the progress of the nation.

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