Why we formed G3 – Sule Lamido

A few days ago, the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum selected Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the consensus northern PDP candidate. As a  northerner and PDP stakeholder, what is your view about the emergence of the former Vice President? I do not want to be entangled in that kind of debate. Going by the general […]

A few days ago, the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum selected Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the consensus northern PDP candidate. As a  northerner and PDP stakeholder, what is your view about the emergence of the former Vice President?

I do not want to be entangled in that kind of debate. Going by the general Nigerian way of expressing rights and freedoms under our constitution, it is in order. You know we have this penchant for invoking the Nigerian constitution in everything we do as long as it suits our purpose; the freedoms and the rights and even the liberties. So, any Nigerian anywhere is free to assemble to discuss any issue of interest. So, to me, that is exactly what they did. It is their right to meet, it is their right to discuss anything they want as individuals or as a group under the Nigerian constitution. No more, no less.

Are you comfortable with the idea of a consensus candidate for the north?

What consensus are you talking about? Is it Nigerian national consensus on issues that are national in perspective or about a political party?

We are talking about Nigerian.

Fine, Nigeria has a constitution which defines how we should do things.

 

There is the Nigerian Governors Forum as well as the Northern Governors Forum. Now, you have formed  the G3, which is made up of you and your counterparts in Adamawa and Sokoto States. What does it hope to achieve that the two  fora….

(Cuts in) Wait a minute. The Nigerian Governors Forum is a forum for all governors from all the political parties in the country,  where we discuss issues that affect us as governors and issues that affect the country as a whole. We  attend some  fora like the National Council of State and, National Economic Council meetings.  The Northern Governors Forum is a body of all northern governors from all the political parties where we discuss issues that affect our states and the north in general.

Now, to answer your question.  G3 is simply a meeting of PDP friends and colleagues who, as governors, are very much interested in the stability, cohesion and capacity of the party to win elections in the country. And so, it is a normal thing for us to meet as  governors.  Only the PDP has the capacity to secure Nigeria for all. Therefore, as governors under one umbrella, it is normal for us to meet and discuss issues of mutual interest.

How do the three of you hope to achieve all these things that you have outlined which the larger fora cannot?

That is what normally fascinates me about you people (journalists) when you ask questions. We feel that we should meet and discuss among ourselves and you are asking me how  it will work out! What is your problem? Abi na your own problem?

We are Nigerians

Are you PDP?

 

As the ruling party at the centre, anything that concerns the PDP concerns all Nigerians. To that extent therefore, it is our affair.

We are talking about card-carrying members of the PDP, which you are not. We as card-carrying members of the PDP believe  in getting you secured and  giving you a stable Nigeria, as we have  been doing all this while. So, allow the card-carrying members of the party to do that. Meanwhile, just keep on voting for us.

Why is the G3 limited to the North?

As we said in our communiqué, as governors of the PDP, we can meet anywhere we want to. We have a number of things which are common to our own states. We are going through some difficulties because we are a big party. And  you know that the bigger the head, the bigger the  headache. So, it is not just us who are meeting. All of us in the PDP at the level of governors or others who are within  the party machinery in terms of having the capacity and authority to address things and assist,  are doing their best to further enhance peace, stability and unity in the PDP family. Because peace within PDP translates to  peace in Nigeria..

Hasn’t any governor from the South shown interest in joining the G3?

Normally, there should be precipitations; everyone is worried over what is happening, so from there, we will begin to talk and from there, the whole thing will blossom to a bigger thing. That will be okay. This is all in our efforts to reassure Nigerians that, that trust they gave us, we will not fail or  disappoint them. Every governor in the PDP is interested in what any governor is doing.

People are alleging that the G3 is meeting at the behest of the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. What is the truth of the matter?

Whenever there is anything to do with Sule Lamido, it will always be linked to OBJ. But then, it is your right to speculate. It is your right to conjecture. But then again, OBJ is PDP; you can’t deny that. So, if your mind has gone out of the radius of rationality, fair enough, but what  we are doing has nothing to do with OBJ.

We also gathered that he (OBJ) was supposed to be at your maiden meeting in Sokoto, but he did not show up. Is that so?

Sometime I get bemused by the way you journalists ‘hear’ things. I laugh a lot about some of your stories because  it takes off from me the burden of this office. This is something which I have never imagined but it is part of the myth; it is what makes us thick. Whereever we are, there are speculations. It is part of the aura of what we are as a party. Smaller groups like the CPC have been meeting but no one talks about them

We learnt that Governor Danjuma Goje was to attend the meeting. Why was he not at the meeting?

To be honest with you, that is what I would call a very wild speculation. It is really amazing how you come up with stories. I just cannot figure out how that story came about.

First, you said that Obasanjo was supposed to be with us in Sokoto. Now, it is Goje who was supposed to be with us  in Dutse. Maybe you will say that Buhari is going to be part of us again.

About four weeks ago, you granted an interview to a Sunday newspaper where you were emphatic that zoning or no zoning, whoever PDP fields as its presidential flagbearer “will” win the election in 2011. Given the chaotic state of the PDP with just a few months to the general elections, what gives you such infectious optimism?

You see, one thing with the Nigerian people, no matter the views they express in debates and discussions, at the end of the day, they always know where to vote because they know the party that will secure the country for them. PDP may have some problems and crises here and there, but I shudder to think that any party other than the PDP will be at the federal level. Look at the membership and followership of the PDP and compare it to those in the other parties and see if there is any basis for comparison in the first place. Look at the ACN or ANPP, remove one or two people from their fold and see what remains of them. These are one-man political parties. Let us be honest with ourselves and say which party has the capacity to secure Nigeria. In the PDP if you pull out any tooth, there may be a little pain, but the head will be clear in no time. But in the other parties, just prick any part a little, and the bubble will burst.

So, people may abuse us, villify us,  insult us, castigate us. But at the end of the day, when it is time for election, they  will vote for the PDP because they feel more secured and it is safer under the PDP than the other parties.  Since, unlike the PDP, all the others are one-man show. So, no matter what, PDP has the discipline, the sense of nationalism, the political sagacity, the concern for Nigeria not to fail Nigerians.

In the past, the opposition parties had lost many members, including elected officials in the executive and legislative arms of government, to the PDP. But of late, the tables seem to be turning against the PDP with its members leaving it for other parties. Doesn’t that…

(Cuts in) Tell me any person of consequence that has left from 1999 to date. Tell me anybody whose departure left the party shaken. I challenge you, in the last ten years,  to tell me  anybody, no matter his wrong notion of self worth, after testing his phenomenal popularity, how has he fared after leaving the PDP? Even after the departure of such people, the party had remained  strong, solid and more focused as it had ever been. In any case, even those who left are coming back after their failed sojourn outside the PDP.  I stand to be corrected.

I remember in an interview you once granted to a national daily, you hammered on the issue of morality. You frowned at leaders who, having abandoned a cause they had fought for, are  now back wanting to be leaders again. Now, although PDP is yet to decide on who flies its presidential flag, I want to know between President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the so-called Northern….

(Cuts in) You are calling the North so-called?

I mean so-called consensus candidate of some Northern leaders.

You are calling what the Northern leaders selected  so-called?

Is the G3 a counter weight to both the Ciroma group and the Jonathan team?

I do not know what you refer to as G3, it is your coinage. Ours is a union of friends, brothers and people who believe in the PDP. It is part of our own modest effort to support the party to effect reconciliation and repositioning before the elections. There are many others working towards the same goal. Therefore, we are not G anything, but simply people who are very much concerned for the wellbeing of our great party.

What do you think of the moves by the members of the National Assembly (NASS) to become members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of their parties?

Now look, they are in the National Assembly to make laws for the nation not for political parties. You don’t make laws for political parties because they have their own constitution that spells out roles and responsibilities of all members, among other things.

If they are talking about having a more informed and larger participation, let them go back to their constituencies and discuss it with their constituents.

There are dark clouds hanging over the entire 2011 elections. Not a few people appear doubtful about conducting credible elections within the existing time line. Do you foresee any looming crisis?

I cannot see any dark clouds. The electoral umpire is somebody you trust. He has all the support he needs, including prayers from almost everyone. As far as I can see, the sky is very clear. There are absolutely no dark clouds.