Why I dumped Tinubu, Atiku to support Obi — Babachir Lawal

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has explained his decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC), subsequently quit the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and join the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in support of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Lawal spoke on Tuesday when he was formally received into the NDC by the party’s National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson.

The former SGF said his movement between political parties was driven by what he described as his disagreement with the choices made by the parties in selecting their presidential candidates.

He said he remained in the APC when former President Muhammadu Buhari was the party’s presidential candidate because, in his assessment, Buhari was a person of integrity.

“I did not leave when APC produced Muhammadu Buhari as a presidential candidate, a man of timber and calibre, a man that is known as honest, a man of integrity. I remained there,” Lawal said.

He, however, said his position changed after the APC subsequently chose a presidential candidate whom he alleged did not prioritise Nigeria’s interests.

“APC decided to put forward a presidential candidate that prefers self rather than Nigeria,” he said.

Lawal said he had played an active role in the APC and remained committed to the party until he became dissatisfied with the direction it took.

According to him, he and others had worked to establish a political structure capable of delivering security, economic prosperity and improved relations among Nigerians, but he became disillusioned with what followed.

He said he eventually decided to leave rather than remain in a political platform whose direction he disagreed with.

“I decided that I would better retire from politics if that is how Nigeria would play their politics,” he said.

Lawal also explained why he later left the ADC, where he had been involved in opposition coalition activities. He said the decision followed his dissatisfaction with the process that produced the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

According to Lawal, he had hoped the opposition coalition would produce a political platform capable of addressing Nigeria’s challenges, but said he became convinced that the process had not met his expectations.

He said his concern extended beyond political affiliation to the future of the country and the conditions facing ordinary Nigerians.

“I looked at my life, I looked at the future of my children, I look at the future of the friends of my children. I look at the poverty, hunger and insecurity that my neighbours, my colleagues are living under,” he said.

Lawal said those considerations eventually led him to the NDC and Obi.

“I could find no other choice than to join a political party [that] presented Peter Obi,” he said.

The former SGF described Obi as a politician he considers to have integrity, while also praising NDC vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

“Any sensible Nigerian that loves the country, that loves his neighbour will support this movement because Peter Obi is a man of integrity, also Kwankwaso is a man that loves his people,” Lawal said.

He argued that the records of Obi and Kwankwaso as former governors demonstrated, in his view, their commitment to improving the welfare of their respective populations.

“Both of them at the time they were governors, they left indelible marks among their people, they uplifted people, they brought security to their people and they brought economic prosperity,” he said.

Lawal’s defection to the NDC comes three months after he left the ADC. Reports at the time said his departure followed his disagreement with the process surrounding the ADC presidential primary that produced Atiku as the party’s candidate.

His move to the NDC now places him behind the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Obi and Atiku currently representing separate opposition platforms.