June 11, 2020
Alhaji Sule Lamido
Former Governor of Jigawa State Alhaji Sule Lamido yesterday declared that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders were its greatest undoing in 2015 and 2019 when they threw the flanks of the party opened, assisted the opposition All progressives Congress (APC) to win election.
He said because of that missteps of the party leadership, the country is now suffering and bleeding to death.
Lamido spoke when the Jigawa State chapter of the party newly constituted caretaker committee paid him a courtesy visit in his country home in Baimaina, Birninkudu Local Government of the State over the weekend
It would be recalled that in 2015 Lamido was among the Governors that rebelled against the statuesque in the party warning it of a grave danger ahead as the leadership was derailing, out of the five rebellious Governors only Lamido refused to join the fray of those that dumped the PDP for the opposition APC then leading to the party’s defeat in 2015.
For Lamido party supremacy cannot be sacrificed on the alta of personal interest or consideration no matter the situation
Explaining further yesterday, he said PDP is the only party that has a long history, with a strong a tradition, a tradition of a legacy, a tradition of knowing Nigeria very well and working for Nigeria’s growth and development
He said they have been warning all along that if PDP does the wrong thing in the Party, Nigeria will suffer.
“We did the wrong thing in 2015, Nigeria is suffering, we did the wrong thing again in 2019 Nigeria is still suffering.
“I have been saying that it is either PDP or nothing, there is nothing like APC. APC victory was won by PDP, it is the PDP invention, PDP created leaders, its presidents, Governors were the ones that gave the APC the victory.
“So it is either good PDP or bad PDP. Either way, it is PDP but the real PDP is the one that was flushed out by the bad PDP which is APC because minus PDP members who were high profile persons in terms of positions in PDP, there is no way APC can come to power.
“PDP has a very strong history and it has a heritage and therefore as we are going into 2023 we should be able to go as a single-family and united, focused for Nigeria because Nigeria is suffering.”
He said the Caretaker committee came on a courtesy visit to see him.
He indicated that the committee came with a clear program to conduct the election and putting in place the new executive to pilot the affairs of the party in the state.
On whether he was satisfied with the committee members he said as a family, why should he not be happy with them?
He said the chairman of the Jigawa State Caretaker committee Honorable Umar Mungadi was a former Speaker Kebbi State House of Assembly hence he and his team know the party, the history and the heritage for that he says he is at home with them.
He said the only Congress that has taken place in the State supervised by INEC and security agents was the ward congress which he said is the first leg.
“There was no other election, let me be very clear, I told them, we had the first leg, we have done the ward congresses, in the presence of INEC and security agencies
“It is now the next phase. Anybody that is going to annul what we did, that we will not accept whether here or even in Abuja. Apparently there is a very clear position because Jigawa is very peaceful and it is the home of PDP. The family is united, it is bonded together and there is no problem.
“There are three levels, luckily we have done the first one which is the ward congress the next is the Local Government congress and then the State Congress.
Asked about the dissenting voices especially that of the former candidate of the party in the Governorship election in 2015 and 2019 Aminu Ringim that seems to be running a parallel faction, Lamido asked rhetorically whether there is any other faction, ‘Aminu Ringim faction, is it a faction?’
He was reminded that there was a written petition to the national secretariat of the party by the group he said, “Go and ask them we have done the congress it is conclusive and it is over and no power on earth can change it.”
The former Governor said there is no human institution where disagreement does not exist, “Look there is no human institution where there are no crisis but the ability to manage it and overcome it, that is the important thing.
“So people should not fear crises because it is about independent minds thinking differently, but what is important is how amicably we can resolve it.”
Lamido said, looking at PDP there is so many crises all over adding that it is because the leadership at the headquarters was not consistent with its policy direction.
He said there was the issue of expiration of the tenure of former executives at State levels, and the position was either their tenures are extended at all levels or dissolved and replaced with caretaker committees.
“There were inconsistencies in terms of policies and the leadership when they laid out policies they should have been very consistent and abide by its guidelines to entrench justice and fairness, which will give people the confidence to say yes in this party I can stick my neck.
“However, they have been picking and choosing from other places, some zonal chairmen whose tenure had expired but their tenure were extended in some states, they brought in caretaker committee in some others and in some place the outgoing chairman was made.
The chairman of the caretaker committee Honorable Umar Mungadi said they paid a courtesy call on Lamido because he is one of the founding fathers of PDP.
“We are here as a caretaker committee of the PDP sent by the national headquarters, so we felt it is reasonable that we pay him a courtesy call.
He said at the expiration of the tenure of any State executive committee of the party another one has to be elected but where there are some little discrepancies certainly a caretaker committee would be set up by the NWC and that is why they were appointed for Jigawa.
He debunked the insinuations that two factions existed in the state adding that the issue in Jigawa is a family affair that would soon be resolved.
“That is why we have come to harmonise things, it is a family affair, in fact, there shouldn’t have been no problem at all that is why we are here. There was a little misunderstanding, that is why we are here to clear it.”
“We are in the State and we are looking for his assistance and cooperation towards the conduct of our exercise.
He said their committee would be in place for as long as there is an election then they would leave adding that they have two to three months to do the needful as the constitution stipulates.
Mungadi said they came with a clear program to conduct the election and put in place the executive committee of the party for the State.
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