I’m still in PDP but will back any arrangement to vote APC out of power

Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has said he remains in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but is willing to throw his weight behind any arrangement to remove the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he likened to cancer, from power in 2027.

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“We must remove this cancer called APC, which we can call malaria, cancer level 4. APC is our problem. We must remove that corruption, which has become a cancer in Nigeria. And it has to be excised out,” Mr Lamido said during an interview on Arise News Television’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday.

Although he expressed reservations about the African Democratic Congress (ADC)-led coalition as currently constituted, he said, “I’m not inside, but then, I’m willing to support any arrangement, by whatever nomenclature, especially now, to restore Nigeria. It’s not about Tinubu. It’s about APC.”

He lamented that the APC, which has been in power from 2015 to date, has failed as a party, adding that the idea behind a “coalition as an avenue for democracy is excellent.”

However, he queried the commitment of some opposition figures championing the coalition against President Bola Tinubu and the APC. He urged the opposition leaders to “slow down”, build a strong party, and unite Nigerians around key national issues, not personalities.

“I think there’s too much rushing I mean,” he said, adding, “There are too many sprinters there. I think they should slow down and look at issues in a deeper way and see how they can come up with a coalition in Nigeria, a coalition of national interest, a coalition of unity, we’ll be able to remove this cancer called APC.”

He called for a coalition that would proffer solutions to the challenges of Nigeria’s democracy, security, economy and corruption.

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Mr Lamido, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2003, pledged loyalty to the PDP despite the party’s internal crisis.

“When there is a crisis, running away is not a solution. You stay in and fight where possible, and see what I can do to make sure the dream of the founding fathers for Nigeria, either within or outside, is achieved,” he said.

READ ALSO: PDP releases timetable for elective National Convention

The coalition

In July, many top politicians from major political parties, including the PDP and the APC, adopted ADC to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Some of the prominent figures, who lost out in the power play in their former political parties, include, Vice President and ex-PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Osun State Governor and former Minister of Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, and former Senate President David Mark who immediately emerged as the party’s national person.

There are others professed backers of the coalition against Mr Tinubu and the APC, but have yet to join the ADC. This category includes former Labour Party presidential candidate and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi.