By Cosmas Omegoh
A socio-cultural group in the North, Arewa Progressives Front (APF), has condemned a statement credited to former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, suggesting that former president Goodluck Jonathan might no longer be a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
APF described the governor’s statement as cheap posturing, mischievous and self-serving.
In a statement signed by Mohammed Umar, APF’s National Coordinator, the group blasted Lamido, who had consistently made negative comments about Jonathan with the intention of casting a slur on the former president’s hard-earned reputation.
In the statement issued in Abuja, the group said: “The APF read with some sense of concern, the latest statement credited to the former governor of Jigawa State, Lamido, where he questioned the PDP membership of former President Jonathan.
“While one shouldn’t be worried about the timing of Lamido’s concern, we find it imperative to respond, understanding that this is just another attempt, to blame his sinking fortune in the party and the trouble he and people like him are causing in the PDP on former president Jonathan, especially as Lamido and others, are presently engaged in a battle for the hijack of the soul of the party.
“We are surprised that Lamido should arrogate to himself the power of determining who is and who is no more in the party. As a former governor, he has access to the former president and could have easily reached out to him if he wasn’t playing his consistent card of mischief.
“It should be noted that at a time that people like Lamido were evasive during the challenging days of the PDP, not only was Jonathan available to save the soul of the party, he also provided leadership, even to the detriment of his personal ambition, to remain as Nigeria’s president.”
APF further described Lamido’s statement as “another cheap attempt, at calling out Jonathan, for no obvious reason other than to divert attention from the rumbles within the PDP, orchestrated by the mischief and selfishness of people like him.”
It noted that even as president of Nigeria and the then PDP leader, Lamido has “always been negative, consistently negative, about Jonathan.”
The group recalled that lamido had, in 2019, “deceitfully and maliciously accused former president Jonathan of complicity in the Malabu oil case, even when the former president was neither linked nor indicted by any law-enforcement body across all the countries that investigated the saga.
“It was in the same light that he mischievously accused former president Jonathan of helping the All Progressives Congress (APC) to win the last gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State, the result of which was later overturned by the Supreme Court in favour of PDP.
“Meanwhile, Lamido served as governor of Jigawa State for two terms on the platform of the PDP, but handed over to an APC governor because he could not secure victory for PDP, even as a sitting governor.”
APF further advised Nigerians to ignore the former governor’s comments on Jonathan, stressing that “it was not made out of love for his party or country but simply mischievous and self-serving.
“Jonathan has continued to do his best to protect and strengthen democracy and promote peace in Nigeria and beyond.
“He deserves all the accolades that he has received from both Nigerians and the international community for this and not petty condemnation from Lamido, and his ilk.
“We are not unaware that certain persons and interest groups may not be happy that his profile has further risen, but they do Nigeria gross disservice when they act so unpatriotically.
“We want to appeal to the public to be wary of such reckless tactics now on display, which form the substance of an odd, malicious campaign targeted at Jonathan.”