A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, on Monday insisted that he supports the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and would not support the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 election.
Lawal in a statement reaffirmed his commitment to the actualisation of the ambition of the LP candidate in the 2023.
According to Lawal, Atiku’s ambition would not fly as it would amount to transition of government from one Muslim Fulani president to another Muslim Fulani president, which he said would be “the worst form of Muslim-Muslim ticket.”
The former SGF was reacting to a trending news that he had abandoned the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to work for Atiku.
He therefore warned that Atiku having his way would represent ethnic domination by one ethnic group over others, saying “I remain a Peter Obi diehard.”
While dismissing the news, the former SGF said that he would not support any Fulani person that may undermine Nigeria’s unity through religion or ethnicity.
Lawal’s statement
The statement reads in part, “I have just seen a trending news that I have abandoned Peter Obi to work for Atiku Abubakar. There is nothing farther from the truth than this. I have never contemplated joining PDP since its formation as I view the PDP as the worst form of a collection of oligarchs and reactionaries.
“Besides, I find myself every year battling Fulani herdsmen determined to have their animals invade my farms and eat-up my crops every year.
“This is aside from their determination to takeover the ancestral farmlands of my kinsmem as they do everywhere in the North. All these they do in a cavalier manner while their elite kinsmen dominant in the government keep mute.
“Moreover, I view a transition of government from one Muslim Fulani president to another as the worst form of Muslim-Muslim ticket. It also represents ethnic domination by one ethnic group over others. I remain a Peter Obi diehard. Any news to the contrary is fake news.”
