Row in Jigawa PDP over Lamido’s son’s endorsement for guber ticket

There is a brewing crisis of confidence in the Jigawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the endorsement of the governorship bid ofMustapha Sule Lamido, son of a former governor of the state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, ADAMU AMADU reports:

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Sule Lamido is among the leading lights in the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He governed Jigawa State under the platform of the party. Now, his biological son, Mustapha Sule Lamido, is at the centre of a controversial endorsement for the PDP governorship ticket in 2023. His endorsement by the Forum of former Local Government Chairmen in Jigawa state is causing disaffection in the party. It is recalled that the 22 ex-council bosses were in office when Sule Lamido› was minister between 2007 and 2015. Rising from a meeting in Gumel, Gumel Local Government Area, they announced the endorsement of the gubernatorial bid of Sule Lamidos son. The communique of the meeting was read by the secretary of the forum, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi Karkarna. Mustapha was the PDP candidate for Jigawa Central senatorial seat in the past. According to the communique of the forum, the members gave their blessing to his governorship aspiration because he is not only young, but also capable of addressing the challenges besetting the state. Part of the communique read: “Apart from being well-educated, he also has a strong mind; he is very sincere and an obedient party member. So, we believe he can do the job. Given the foregoing, we are calling on this intellectual youth and gentleman in the person of Mustapha Lamido to come out and contest for the governorship ticket of our great party, the PDP.”

However, some forces have vehemently opposed the endorsement. They opined that the forum was party of the Sule Lamido political dynasty. They believe it was a grand plot to predetermine the process by denying other promising aspirants for the ticket. Jigawa State was a strong base  of the PDP between 2007 and 2015. Its fortunes diminished following the defeat of the PDP by the APC in 2015 and the party members hope that the PDP could use the next general election to bounce back to reckoning. In the meantime, there are varied opinions from other segments of the populace on the endorsement by the 22 former PDP chairmen under the leadership of Alhaji Ali Diginsa, who is also the PDP deputy chairman. Nonetheless, some pundits have added another dimension to the raging debate on the matter. Beyond what they perceived as the ploy by the former minister to foist his son as PDP candidate in 2023, they  argue that the PDP ought to uphold the principle of zoning; that the ticket ought to go to another senatorial district or emirate other than Jigawa Central where the former governor comes from. Other commentators say Mustapha, who is the Santuraki of Dutse, a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, is qualified in all ramifications to vie for the seat. One of such observers said: “He has the constitutional right to contest any position in the party, by virtue of his being an active member of the PDP. Democracy is a system that gives every individual the opportunity to play his card, irrespective of his tribal or parental lineage. According to the tenants of democracy, Mustapha can contest the same position with his father in the same party or under a different party. This is not a sin; so, if his father was a governor and today he is also qualified to contest that position, no one has the power to deny him such right. Therefore his endorsement for the PDP governorship ticket is in order.”

The arrowheads of the opposition to his bid is a faction of the party led by Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim Ringim who was the PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 and the 2019 elections. It claimed the plan was designed to shut out other likely contenders and subvert the process of having a level-playing field.  This is said to be against the spirit that has propelled others like Bashir Adamu Jumbo, a four-time member of the House of Representatives representing Kazaure/Roni/Yankwashi/Gwiwa Federal Constituency; and Dr Nuruddeen Muhammad, a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs under the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration between 2011 and 2015 joining the race. Muhammad was also the Supervising Minister at the Federal Ministry of Information, Culture and National Orientation before he resigned from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to contest as the running mate to the PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 general election.