Former federal lawmaker and civil rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani, has provided a detailed retrospective on the evolution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its trajectory through successive administrations. Speaking during an interview on the Mic On Podcast on Sunday, March 29, 2026, Sani analyzed the foundational motivations of the ruling party and the distinct governance styles that have emerged over the last decade.
In the recent video from 21:14, Reflecting on the party’s inception, Sani noted that the APC’s formation was a strategic consolidation of diverse political interests. According to the former senator, the party’s origins were rooted in a singular objective shared by various factions across the Nigerian political landscape.
“The APC started as a merger,” Sani stated. “By merger, it means people come from different political background, tendencies, and ideas with a common aim of evicting Jonathan out of power and taking over power themselves. And that was what happened in 2014,” he added.
Sani observed that this transition marked a significant milestone in the nation’s democratic journey, providing a unique vantage point for the citizenry. He explained that since that period, “Nigerians were able to have an experience of an opposition in power for the first time in our history.” He further calculated the timeline of the party’s dominance, noting, “So it’s now about 10 years we are on the 11th year.”
In his assessment of the party’s performance, Sani categorized the APC’s tenure into two distinct eras: the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari and the current administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He highlighted the specific political circumstances surrounding President Tinubu’s ascent to the presidency, suggesting that his path to the Aso Villa was marked by internal institutional resistance.
“For Tinubu administration, he took over power against the interests of those who were in power at that very time. He won the primaries and then the election,” Sani remarked.
The senator emphasized that the current administration has diverged from traditional political playbooks that often prioritize immediate public approval and electoral security. Sani pointed out that the President’s approach to governance appears to favor long-term structural changes over populist sentiment.
He said, “Now, he led differently. When most people are in power, they want to do things that will please everyone. That will make them gain more popularity and that will secure their re-election. But for the first time, we had a president who is taking the bull by the horns by implementing reforms at the risk of losing his re-election and losing his popularity and support base.” Read_More…