*Insists President’s June 12 Role Exegarated
FORMER Jigawa State governor and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sule Lamido,
has declared that the party remains alive, unlike the APC, which he described as having no real foundation.
Lamidi insisted: “PDP is not dead. If PDP is dead, then APC is dead. Most of APC’s leadership are PDP products. Only Oshiomhole and Tinubu are real APC. The rest are PDP. So, if we are dead, then APC is a ghost party.”
He neither confirmed nor denied membership of the budding Alliance for Democratic Action (ADA), rather saying: “What you see, don’t panic. I don’t panic. I walk with my eyes wide open.”
He, however, declared readiness to align with any political forces, regardless of their name or structure, to oust what he described as the divisive and incompetent government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking on a television programme, Lamido stated: “I am part of any arrangement, any arrangement, no matter the nomenclature or name, to remove the current government of incompetency, insecurity, and dividing the Nigerian family between North and South.
“I will be part of any arrangement, any chemistry, any configuration, whatever you may call it, if it’s going to remove this government that is on autopilot.”
Lamido accused the current administration of weaponising ethnicity and using state institutions to stifle the opposition, noting: “Today in Nigeria, we have a government that is dividing Nigerians along North and South, using institutions of the state to manipulate and coerce the opposition.”
Lamido accused him of exaggerating and falsifying his involvement in Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggle, insisting: “I find Tinubu’s rhetoric highly entertaining, the way he dramatises his role in Nigeria’s democracy. Luckily, we are all alive. We were all there.
“Tinubu only became relevant after Abacha took over. Before then, he was just a party secretary. With all due respect, he was part of those who supported Babangida and opposed June 12. His mother organised Lagos market women to support Babangida.
“When Babangida faced resistance, Ayu, then senate president, convened a meeting in Benin to affirm support for June 12. Babangida was angry and replaced him.
“People like Tinubu only became activists after Abacha. NADECO was not about democracy; it was about opposing Abacha.”
“Tinubu and others fled the country. We stayed and fought Abacha. I was detained. The real fighters were those who stayed. NADECO came after the fight. They inherited the product, but were not part of the process.
“Those advocating June 12 today were more concerned with the bathwater than the baby. They were not part of the process; they only picked the product. There is a distinction between the victory and the victor. NADECO was more about the victory.”
