The intricate plot against Lamido’s presidential ambition

ADAMU AMADU looks at the gathering storm against the presidential ambition of the governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido.

The recent announcement by the vice chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Jigawa  State and head of Sule Lamido Presidential Movement, Alhaji Aminu Jahun, that his group would commence Governor Lamido’s  presidential campaign in Bayelsa State, the  home state of  President Goodluck Jonathan, this month, appears to have worsened the political crisis between the governor and Presidency.

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Lamido’s presidential ambition against the yet-to-be-declared intention of incumbent President Jonathan had soured the relationship between him and the president on the one hand and the PDP national leadership on the other hand. The crisis dated back to the party’s crisis which culminated in the breaking away of a group formerly known as the New PDP. 

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) crisis also added to the embers of the crisis. Governor Lamido was then speculated to be planning to run on a joint ticket with his counterpart from Rivers State, RotimiAmeachi. The factionalisation of the NGF was thus interpreted as a counter move from the Presidency to scuttle the presidential ambition of the duo.

The mainstream PDP had to rush to the court where it succeeded in ‘killing’ the New PDP which led five of the G7 governors dumping the umbrella for the broom. Lamido and his Niger State counterpart, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu refused to refuse to leave the PDP.

However, losing five of his colleagues, including his intended running mate and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Ameachi to another party was perceived by the Presidency as a potent blow against the presidential intention of Lamido. The countermove against Lamido was spearheaded by the immediate past national chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur.

The governor also got his first shocker when his eldest son Aminu Lamido was arrested at Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, detained and accused of money laundering. He was later prosecuted.

The move against Lamido did not stop there. When he was to embark on a foreign trip, his international passport got missing. He took him more than enough time to secure another. This was interpreted by those in his camp as a deliberate attempt to embarrass and frustrate him from the trip.

Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had also stormed the state and whisked away about 30 permanent secretaries, the state’s accountant general, heads of tertiary institutions and top civil servants who are signatories to government financial transactions in the ministries, parastatal and tertiary institutions in the state.

One of those nabbed and whisked to Abuja by the EFCC officials was Mustapha Lamido, another son of the governor, who was accused of being   signatory to the accounts of several firms belonging to his father. Discovered in his personal accounts was billions of naira as a result of which the anti-graft commission began his prosecution.

The governor had a reputation for being prudent in application of public funds and entrenching accountability in his government. But these incidents of arrests for alleged graft really shocked many. Observers note that the developments might affect the image the governor had already cut for himself.

The opposition parties have latched onto the issue to lampoon the governor and his government with a view to weakening his support base in the state.

Apart from the series of arrests involving his sons and government officials, the ordeal of Governor Lamido entered another phase, as a seed of discord was said to have been thrown into the state chapter of the PDP, the platform on which he hopes to realise his ambition. A once-united chapter of the party is now speaking with many voices. There are people who oppose the governor and his political ideology and some of his policies. The criticisms from within against Lamido came after a representative of the state in the Federal Executive Council and loyalist of the governor was dropped in the last cabinet shake-up.

Added to the worry of the governor was the invitation extended to his arch-rival and former governor of the state, Saminu Turaki who had been in exile of sort for a while.  The powers-that-be at the centre are trying to woo him to PDP and to empower him to take over the structure and thus put spanners in the works for Lamido’s aspiration. Nigerian Tribune also gathered that another move against the governor is to deprive him of vital information and thus shut him out of participating in PDP national activities and decision making. 

Indication that Turaki might soon be handed the control of the PDP structure in the state emerged recently in an advertorial in one of the national dailies recently in which a group called for the change of the leadership of the party at all levels in the state on the basis that the party officers lacked legitimacy and credibility.

In view of the governor’s ordeal in the last few months on account of his declared presidential ambition, his loyalists opine that the governor somersaulted politically by his refusal to join the opposition APC as done by five of his colleagues.

But just the pro-and anti-Lamido camps were putting finishing touches to their game plan, the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Salisu Kuit said the governor had re-united with President Jonathan and downplayed the existence of any cold war between the duo.

Kuit’s pronouncement shocked and disappointed many on both sides. He spoke recently in Dutse while addressing journalists in his office. He said Lamido was loyal to President Jonathan and had supporting all his policies and programmes of the latter. He debunked the allegation of disloyalty to the Jonathan’s presidency and stressed that the two leaders were in good terms.

External factor
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo is seen by many as the strongest backer of Lamido’s presidential ambition to which he has openly thrown his weight. The governor himself sees Obasanjo’s backing as a major boost, in view of the role the former president played in the enthronement of the incumbent President Jonathan in 2011. The former president had been linked with favouring a Lamido-Ameachi joint ticket. 

During his visit to Rivers State at the instance of Governor Ameachi to inaugurate some projects done by the governor, Obasanjo not only praised the Rivers governor but also apologised for his propounding the Theory of K Leg to deny the chance to fly the PDP flag in the 2007 election in the state until the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. Obasanjo was also a guest of Lamido at the flag off of the latter’s presidential ambition in Dutse. Obasanjo, who has become estranged with his godson and incumbent president, told Nigerians that Lamido is a better alternative to enthrone in 2015 because he has the capacity to transform the country and take the nation to greater heights.

Can APC upstage PDP?
Political analysts see the crack in Jigawa PDP and the perceived cold war between the governor and the president as the opportunity the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) had been waiting for launch a master stroke that will dislodge the PDP from power in the state in 2015. The new state chairman of the APC, Alhaji Ado SaniKiri, in his acceptance speech after he was elected along other executive members in the recent congress, had boasted of APC victory in the next elections in the state.  He said the APC would not just win by a small margin but sweep the polls, as the internal crisis in the PDP was already enough to cripple the party and pave way for the emergence of an APC government in the state.

According to him, “APC has already tightend up its belt to wrestle the party in power. God the Almighty is already dealing with them, considering the stand of the APC in trying to restore the already battered image of the nation, state and local governments respectively.” He added that the APC and the people of the state were more than ready to take over the state come 2015, the crisis in the PDP having provided a fertile ground for the opposition party.

Slow development in Lamido’s second term
The government of Lamido has been pilloried for poor performance in the critical agriculture sector, especially during his second coming, despite the state being an agrarian society. Investment in the sector is said to have reduced considerably. Observers note that this might be a source of campaign against his ambition by the APC and the people of the state, especially in Jigawa North East senatorial district. The lull in the sector is believed to have been caused by the non-release of N10 billion for irrigation project at Hadejia belly project promised by Jonathan.

There are keen watchers of the political developments in the state who hold the view that one of Lamido’s presidential air bus may crash-land and his decision to ensure the emergence of senatorial candidates, especially in Jigawa Central and Jigawa North-East as well as a successor governor appear threatened. Will he surprise critics by resurrecting his political machinery and position himself for relevance in the politics of the state? Only time will tell.

REF    http://tribune.com.ng/quicklinkss/politics/item/5728-the-intricate-plot-against-lamido-s-presidential-ambition