The speculated crack in the ranks of G7 governors has started coming to the fore as the governor of Jigawa State, Dr Sule Lamido, finally ruled out the possibility of joining his colleagues in the group in their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Lamido, in declining invitations to join the APC, said it would be foolhardy on his part to join the opposition party as one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .
He made this known in Dutse, Jigawa State, at weekend when a crowd from the youth wing of APC drawn from the 19 northern states paid him a visit, urging him to dump PDP as early as possible for APC.
The APC youths, led by Engineer Muyahid Zartaus, said they were in Jigawa to plead with Lamido who he described as one of Nigeria’s most outstanding governors to join APC, moreso as his other colleagues hitherto in PDP had done so.
Zartaus said as a progressive governor, APC was the place for Lamido to be, urging him not to take more time in considering the option of joining the group.
The youth and elders of APC, according to him, would be happy to have the Jigawa State governor in their party considering his rich political background, which he stressed, had been built since the First Republic with leaders like late Mallam Aminu Kano.
However, the governor said his reason for not joining the governors of Kano, Adamawa, Kwara, Sokoto and Rivers in their defection to the APC hinged on some political considerations surrounding the nature of the umbrella opposition party in Nigeria.
Lamido told the youths in strong terms that he would not join APC, which he described as a party founded on anger by principal members.
According to him, the party may end up in the doldrum once the issues which caused their anger were addressed, stating that he was content being a member of PDP.
He described PDP as the strongest party in Nigeria which is spread across the nooks and crannies of the country. He said it was better that he remained in the party which, according to him, he co-founded.
The governor later reiterated his position on the crises within the ruling party and his decision to remain a member when he addressed a large crowd at the Mallam Aminu Kano Square in Dutse, during the flag off campaign for local government election in the state.
He said he was disposed to exploring all avenues for resolution of the crises and his difference with the leadership of the party hence, there was no need for him to jump the ship by joining a new party.
There have been speculations that Lamido and his counterpart in Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu, would soon join the APC, notwithstanding their resolve to remain within the ruling party.
Expectations that Lamido and the Niger State governor would leave the PDP became high with the failed reconciliation meetings they had had with the PDP leadership especially President Goodluck Jonathan.
The chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, had hailed the decision by Lamido and Babangida to remain in the party, describing their resolve as patriotic and welcoming.
Source: Tribune
