…as visit unsettles Jigawa State APC
By Haruna Salami
A group known as PDP Vanguard for Good Governance (PVGG) has lauded the Jigawa State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate Mustapha Sule Lamido for his political sagacity in reaching out to former PDP leaders in the opposition ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to galvanize support for his candidacy.
The Chairman of the group, Comrade Shehu Abdullahi, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday spoke on the heels of Lamido (jnr)’s visit to the senator representing Jigawa North west senatorial district, Senator Danladi Sankara in Abuja on consultation.
According to him, Lamido (jnr) is only exhibiting how he was well brought up to give respect to whom it is due as he had paid similar courtesy visits on the five Emirate councils earlier to consult with the Emirs.
He said his consultations are part of his determination to ensure his candidacy receives wide acceptance for overwhelming victory come 2023 general election.
Abdullahi said the Jigawa State PDP governorship standard bearer had taken his statewide consultation to the Royal Fathers in Gumel, Ringim and Dutse Emirates having earlier paid similar homage to the Emir of Hadejia and chairman of the Council of Emirs in Jigawa State, Dr. Adamu Abubakar Maje and the Emir of Kazaure, Najib Hussaini Adamu on the same mission, where he received overwhelming acceptability.
Abdullahi said, Lamido is already exhibiting high level political maturity in his quest to govern the state which other politicians must learn from as the contest is not a do or die affair.
“This is worth commending, a young man with vision for Jigawa is already galvanizing support across party lines”, adding that “the PDP and the people of Jigawa are lucky to have him”.
At the meeting Mustapha Lamido, said he met Senator Sankara at his Abuja residence as part of his ongoing consultations.
However, the visit by Lamido (jnr) had sent jitters down the spine of the ruling APC in the state as the two politicians met behind closed doors.
The meeting happened just five days after Sankara shunned the governorship campaign flag-off of his party in Gumel – one of the 12 local council areas that makes up the North-west Senatorial district he represents.
There have been no love lost between senator Sankara and Governor Muhammad Badaru of the state since the APC primary election for the zone.
It will be recalled that in May, Sankara who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation stepped down from contesting the primary election for Jigawa North-west senatorial district.
He had resolved then to “withdraw from participating in the ongoing primaries of Jigawa North west senatorial district due to biased and preferential actions of the state party leader (Mr Badaru).
Sankara in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Adamu said “I will like to thank the people of Jigawa North-west for giving me the mandate to represent them at the red chamber on two occasions.
“For those who have supported me right from the beginning of my aspiration, I thank you all for believing in me and I hope everyone will understand this to be the will of Allah Almighty and as humans, we must accept whatever God designed for us”, Mr. Sankara said in May while withdrawing from the senatorial race.
After Sankara’s withdrawal from the race, he has been avoiding political gatherings in the state after he rejected the appointment to be the director general of the APC campaign in the state.
The meeting with the PDP governorship candidate in Abuja was coming on the heels of ongoing rumours that the senator may dump the ruling party.
An aide to Lamido Mansur said Sankara is one of the fathers of the state who Lamido deemed important to consult within his quest to govern the state
