Atiku, others can’t monopolise PDP – Lamido
A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has disclosed that the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, cannot be stopped by any member of the Peoples Democratic Party if he stages a return to the party.
Lamido also warned that nobody including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and other notable bigwigs can claim to own the party.
The PDP chieftain made the clarification when he was featured as a guest on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
His concerns come one month after Obi individually met with him, Atiku and the ex-Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in Abuja.
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This is the first meeting of the former Anambra State governor with his former political allies after he defected from the PDP to LP in May 2022.
The rendezvous had since fuelled rumours of a potential alliance that could displace the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027.
When quizzed on the chances of Obi defecting back to the PDP, a bemused Lamido asked if it would amount to a crime for him to return to his old party.
“Peter was a running mate in the PDP in 2019, wasn’t he? So what is wrong with him coming over to the PDP? Is it a crime?” he queried.
When challenged on his position despite knowing Atiku who is regarded as the opposition party’s leader still has an ambition to run again, the former Jigawa governor kicked.
Lamido fumed that what he and other concerned stakeholders were after was for the PDP to reconcile with aggrieved members and have a united front to wrest power from the ruling APC.
He said, “No, you are wrong. The PDP cannot be owned by anybody. It is owned by the Nigerian people. So the ambition of Atiku Abubakar is something different.
“It is his personal feeling and right. To me, one is free to make a declaration. I am not part of it.
“I am more interested in the party and keeping the PDP strong. Then a time will come for Atiku or anybody that wants to run. But it will not be a monopoly for anybody in the PDP.
“So he is free to say whatever he is saying. Again, it has no bearing or meaning on what we are doing now in our effort to reposition the PDP.
“The dynamics have changed. Even in Labour (Party), they are having a crisis. So Obi can decide for himself. We are now under a new scenario and evolution whereby the country is gradually evaporating and it must be rescued. Therefore, Obi and Atiku can hold on to their ambition. When the party is fully reconciled and restored, they can then come around.
“We need to build a very strong platform to be able to confront the APC because the ruling party has a capacity for mischief. You can see what we have been turned to; a country where everybody is overwhelmed.”
Lamido also took a shot at President Bola Tinubu, who he described as a man who has been thriving on the myth that he built modern-day Lagos.
According to him, nobody including the president can dismiss the fact that the renowned ‘Centre for Excellence’ was built with proceeds from the Nigerian Ports Authority and other landmark achievements in the state.
“I know Tinubu very well right from when he was under the SDP. I also know him as a governor of Lagos State and know his capacity. Luckily today, he is there on top of the country.
“He did not build Lagos. Lagos was built with Nigeria’s money from the ports, airports and buildings.
“The economy was built by the Nigerian government for him to benefit from. So when you say Tinubu’s Lagos, he did not build it. That is because I know him and he knows me very well,” he argued.
