Tinubu using state power to crush opposition, Sule Lamido alleges

•Says he’s ready to work with any arrangement within, outside PDP to save country

•Kicks against state creation

FORMER Minister of Foreign Affairs and chieftain of  the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Sule Lamido, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of  using state power to coerce opposition party members to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former minister, who restated that he remained a member of the PDP, said he was ready to support any political arrangements ahead of 2027, capable of savaging the country from the APC-led Federal Government.

Lamido, who spoke to newsmen in Kano, on Wednesday, accused the administration of President Tinubu of completely changing the “political narrative, and is determined to destroy democracy.”

According to the PDP leader, the deployment of state apparatus against the opposition posed a threat to democracy.

“Today, Tinubu is using state institutions to crush the opposition through intimidation, blackmail, harassment, and government patronage,” Lamido alleged.

The former governor of Jigawa State also claimed that such harassment was evident in corruption charges against opposition politicians whose sins are forgiven once they defect to the ruling APC.

Lamido said:  “It is just like what an APC stalwart once said, no matter your crime, once you join the APC, you will be forgiven. That is why people who feel guilty are joining the APC. This is a serious danger to our democracy.”

He lamented the challenges of insecurity, stability, unity, and trust besetting the country as a result of the use of state institutions by the government to undermine democracy, just as he warned that without mutual trust and unity among Nigerians, the country cannot make progress.

The ex-minister further alleged that the government was deliberately encouraging divisive tendencies such as separating the North-Central from the rest of the North and creating divisions between the South-East and South-South for political gain.

He said the country no longer functions as a united entity with mutual respect and love, as the situation has left many people in panic.

“People are now asking what to do. Because of the panic, there are talks about forming coalitions. But I have said it before, the coalition we had in 2014 was organic,” he recalled.

Speaking specifically on the coalition formed by some leaders of the opposition recently, Lamido said:  “Today, the proposed coalition is just a gathering of individuals. The Labour Party, PDP, and others are not uniting as political institutions but as individuals like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and others. That is why I am not part of it.

“For me, any coalition must define clear parameters. Why are we coming together? It should be for democracy, unity, stability, security, and prosperity.

“These should be the guiding principles, not personal ambition, vengeance or revenge.

“I remain in the PDP. Yes, PDP has its problems, but I cannot walk out of my skin and take on a new identity like joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC). I have a history. I have been a PDP faithful. It is the PDP that made me a minister and governor. I was detained, harassed, blackmailed, and my office and house were nearly destroyed because of my loyalty to PDP.

“Therefore, I cannot renounce my legacy and join something new. I am PDP. I will support any arrangement within or led by the PDP that seeks to secure Nigeria in 2027, but certainly not anything involving Tinubu or the APC.

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“I believe in Nigeria. So any arrangements, be it within or outside the Peoples Democratic Party, that will secure and save Nigeria, I am ready to work with it in 2027,” he said.

“I believe in Nigeria. So any arrangements, be it within or outside the Peoples Democratic Party, that will secure and save Nigeria, I am ready to work with it in 2027,” he said.

On the demand for additional states in the country, the former governor said that though the agitation is legitimate, the creation of states would not solve the multifaceted challenges bedeviling the country.

“My question is: will, the creation of new states solve our problems – insecurity, poverty, hunger and division between the North and the South? There are more pressing issues than creating additional states,” he said.

He also reacted to reports that the leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso visited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Lamido said the former Kano governor has every right to do so.

Lamido added that there was no personal quarrel between him and Kwankwaso, stressing: “We were in good contact with each other, though we have political differences. If I belong to party  A,  he [Kwankwaso] may be in party B.”