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Tag: Lamido

  • Lamido to honour EFCC invitation

    Lamido to honour EFCC invitation

    Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has returned to the country to honour the invitation by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

    He is scheduled to appear before the anti graft agency on Thursday.

    Lamido told reporters in his Bamaina village in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area that the EFCC is an anti-graft agency of the government, recognised by law whose invitation he would not shun.

    “I am aware of the invitation,’’ he said.

    According to him, he is always willing to honour this kind of invitation even when he enjoyed immunity.

    Lamido, however, said he would not take up issues with the governor on the debt he left behind.

     

  • EFCC to quizz Lamido, Elechi

    EFCC to quizz Lamido, Elechi

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited ex-Governors Sule Lamido and Martin Elechi for questioning for alleged diversion of funds.

    Lamido is to answer questions on alleged  money laundering. The allegations against Elechi border on mismanagement of the State/Local Government Joint Account.

    Although Lamido’s invitation is dated June 9th, he is expected for quizzing on June 17th.

    Elechi, who ought to appear on June 8th, wrote through his counsel that he would be available on June 16th.

    He sent his son, Nnanna, to the EFCC to explain why he could not make it.

    A highly-placed source in EFCC gave insights into the two ex-governors’ invitation.

    The source said: “We are going to quiz Lamido on allegations relating to money laundering. The EFCC had earlier put one of his sons on trial and secured his conviction.

    “We invited three of his children over money laundering allegations too. All the transactions having to do with money laundering were allegedly traced to some companies where ex-Governnor Lamido has interest.

    “On Elechi, he will face a team of interrogators on alleged mismanagement of funds in the State/Local Government Joint Account.

    “We have had outstanding allegations against these former governors but they all pleaded immunity. Now that they are out of power, we can interact with them.”

    The EFCC in January quizzed the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Works, Cornelius Onwe; the  Accountant General, Edwin Igbele; ex-Commissioner for Finance Timothy Ogbonnaya Odaa; and ex- Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters Cele Nwali.

    They were all drilled on alleged “illegal deductions” from the Joint Account for a failed Asphalt Project in 13 Local Government Areas of the state by the Elechi administration. Funds running into billions of naira were allegedly deducted from local government accounts.

    On January 29, the ex-governor’s son, Nnanna, was also quizzed for alleged money laundering.

    When contacted, the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said: “We have invited the two former governors for interaction.”

  • Lamido, Aliyu not Muazu deserve the boot

    SIR: I wish to comment on the recent call by Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State for Adamu Muazu to resign as PDP Chairman and for pre-empting a government that has not taken off.

    These men played prominent roles in the 16 years failure of the PDP and they never advised the government on what to do because they were part of the looting machine. These men were behind PDP’s failure. They led some northern PDP governors to vote against Jonathan’s candidate in the governors’ forum election. They were the one that led the G-7 governors round the country campaigning for a northern president. Lamido did not defect because of the money laundering case against his children. Babangida Aliyu said he wanted to consult the elders of the party in his state. When did Muazu the game-changer become the brain behind PDP failure?

    If there is anybody worth expelling from the PDP, it is Babangida and Lamido.

    • Okorie Emmanuel,             
    •              Makurdi
  • Aliyu, Lamido: no plan by PDP governors to float new party

    Aliyu, Lamido: no plan by PDP governors to float new party

    JIGAWA State Governor Sule Lamido and his Niger State counterpart, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday debunked rumours that governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are planning to float a new political party.

    They maintained that they would never allow intruders and interlopers to take over a house they laboured to build.

    Aliyu, who spoke for the two governors at the inauguration of Shiroro Bridge built on River Kaduna, said they would not dump the party despite the crisis rattling it.

    He said they have resolved not to leave the PDP as being speculated by some people, describing the story in a section of the media as a fabrication of falsehood.

    “We are not creating a new party. We will remain in the PDP. Whoever planted the story has made a mistake.

    “We had opportunity to defect. But we did not because we believe that defection was not the best way to develop and entrench democracy. Whatever you see today is designed by God. It is not compulsory to be on the winning side always.”

    Aliyu, who is the chairman Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), said the loss of the party at the presidential and governorship elections was a lesson to everyone.

    He added: “After 16 years of being in power, we should not be annoyed. We should not show unfaithfulness.”

    He said the defeat of the PDP should not be viewed as a rejection of any individual, but a referendum on the performance of the PDP in the areas of management of economy and security.

    Aliyu said the North, which felt disenchanted by the inability of the Federal Government to find solution to the activities of Boko Haram, voted against the PDP.

    According to him, “the people felt the party has not done enough for the protection of their lives and property.”

    The governor reiterated his call for the Adamu Mu’azu-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP to throw in the towel for leading the party to a “disastrous defeat” in the general elections.

    “How could you lead a party to disastrous outing in an election and you are still in place? Take the blame for the defeat by quitting and if the PDP still wants you, they will beg you to stay,” he said.

    Aliyu warned that if the party chairman and his team refused to throw in the towel now, “the actual change will come in March 2016 when we will elect new leaders at the national convention of our party”.

    Jigawa State governor, who commissioned the bridge, said: “We have both agreed not to leave the PDP.”

    He added: “We dey kanpe for PDP; we dey shelele for PDP. PDP has honoured and dignified me, and I am not leaving it for tenants. I and Aliyu are from home background while others are from mere house background. We are well-groomed right from our homes and we will not leave the party for anyone.”

    Lamido advised that “it is not time for blame game. We should all accept that we made mistake and find ways to correct it in the future”.

  • I won’t hand over on May 29, says Lamido

    I won’t hand over on May 29, says Lamido

    Outgoing Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has said he will not hand over to the incoming All Progressives Congress (APC) administration on May 29.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Dutse, the state capital, when he addressed the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and scores of his supporters.

    The occasion was a reception for a youth, who trekked for four days from Hadejia to the Government House in Dutse, about 170 kilometres, to meet the governor.

    Lamido said having been a democratically-elected governor under the PDP for eight year, he had delivered beyond the people’s expectations.

    The governor said he was not owing the people anything.

    He said: “I will not hand over to my successor, because my predecessor did not hand over to me.

    “I will go on leave on May 20 (nine days to the day of handover day). I will hand over to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the SSG will hand over to the next administration, as it was done to me in 2007.

    “Already, I have appointed the SSG to lead the transition committee and he will hand over necessary documents to the new elected governor. This is normal.

    “We will organise a farewell programmes before that day. I will invite all my supporters in the state to see me off to the Dutse International Airport, where I will take my flight and allow the new administration to continue from where I stop.

    “We have served our lovely state to the best of our capacity and ability, for eight years. Of course, we achieved a lot in terms developmental projects that have turned Jigawa into a proud state.

    “We made our efforts to ensure that the PDP administration continued to lead Jigawa State but Allah rejected our proposal. So we have no option than to accept His will and support the new government because Jigawa is for all of us.”

  • Lamido congratulates Buhari

    Lamido congratulates Buhari

    Jigawa state Governor Sule Lamido has congratulated President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on his victory in the presidential election.

    This was contained in a statement signed by his media aide, Malam Adamu Muhammed Usman.

    He said: “No doubt, Nigerian people have spoken through their votes and it is our duty as democrats to respect the will of the people.”

    According to the statement, “the election of Muhammadu Buhari is a manifestation of the resolve of Nigerians to give democracy a chance and also prove that Nigerians have embraced democratic culture of preserving the sanctity of processes that brought leaders of integrity into power.”

     Lamido urged the President-elect to be magnanimous in victory and serve as a bridge builder among sections of the country.

  • ‘Lamido under pressure to damage Buhari’s image’

    ‘Lamido under pressure to damage Buhari’s image’

    The APC Presidential Campaign Organisation alleged yesterday that Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido was under pressure from the Presidency to cast aspersions on Gen. Muhammadu Buhari with a view to damaging his reputation before Nigerians.

    The spokesman of the campaign organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, said at a news conference in Abuja that the Jigawa State governor is being pressurised to grant an interview to a radio station alleging that Gen. Buhari will only be a figure head president if elected, while the real business of leading the country will be handled by the vice president.

    Shehu said Governor Lamido was not qualified to speak on the leadership style of Gen. Buhari because he had never had any close contact with the former Head of State and never worked with him.

    He said: “We just got information that all FRCN stations have been directed to link up for a live interview to be granted by Governor Lamido.

    “The contents of the interview as agreed with President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo are to essentially damage Gen. Buhari along the line that he will be a figurehead while Osinbajo will be the de facto president. He will give examples of GMB’s leadership style, mentioning Idiagbon (COS-SHQ) and Alhaji Salihijo (PTF).

    “This situation, he will claim is unfair to the North as the Southwest will be indirectly getting another term of office as president in addition to the Obasanjo years, so Northerners should not be deceived into voting APC.

    “A few things we will like to point out to Governor Lamido’s audience members include the fact that Lamido had been pressured to do the interview because of the EFCC pressure on his sons’ corruption charges. Lamido has never worked near or with GMB to know his leadership style. Those working closely with him in the APC know otherwise”.

    He wondered when Lamido became the official spokesman of the north and how much of the cash being doled out by the President has been negotiated for the north by the governor.

    He said “When did Lamido become a spokesman for the North? What did he and other Jonathan apologists negotiate for the North as the South West has been doing with Jonathan in the last two weeks?

    “As a self appointed Northern interest spokesman, what is his response to the pejorative references made by Mrs. Patience Jonathan about Northerners?”

    But, the Director of Media and Publicity to the governor, Alhaji Umar Kyari, expressed surprise when contacted by The Nation for his reaction to the allegation.

    Kyari said: “It is not true. His Excellency did not grant any interview to FRCN as they alleged. The campaign organisation is replying to a non-issue. They should quote the interview, where and when.

    “I think it is not right for senior journalists and image-makers to be responding to non-issue in the name of politics.”

  • Lamido’s Sponsored Radio Broadcast

    Text of a Press Conference by the APCPCO

    We just got information that all FRCN stations have been directed to link up for a live interview to be granted by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State about now. The contents of the interview as agreed with Vice President Namadi Sambo and President Jonathan are to essentially damage General Muhammadu Buhari along the following lines:

    1. GMB will be a figurehead while Osinbajo will be the de facto president. He will give examples of GMB’s leadership style mentioning Idiagbon (COS-SHQ) and Salihijo (PTF).

    2. This situation he will claim is unfair to the North as the South-West will be indirectly getting another term of office as president in addition to the Obasanjo years, so Northerners should not be deceived into voting APC.

    A few things we will like to point out to Governor Lamido’s audience members include:
    (1) Lamido had been pressured to do the interview because of the EFCC pressure on his sons’ corruption charges.
    (2) Lamido has never worked near or with GMB to know his leadership style. Those working closely with him in the APC know otherwise.
    (3) When did Lamido become a spokesman for the North?
    (4) What did he and other Jonathan apologists negotiate for the North as the SW has been doing with Jonathan in the last two weeks?
    (5) Of the millions of the US Dollars that Mr. Jonathan has allegedly been sharing to traditional and religious leaders in the South-West, how much of it did Lamido negotiate and obtain on behalf of the Northern traditional and religious leaders?
    (6) As a self appointed Northern interest spokesman, what is his response to the pejorative references made by Mrs. Patience Jonathan about Northerners?
    Thank you for listening.
    Mallam Garba Shehu

  • Kwankwaso faults Lamido’s comments on G-five governors

    Kwankwaso faults Lamido’s comments on G-five governors

    … Obasanjo’s exit signals PDP’s demise

    Fresh facts are now emerging on what led to the breakup of the G-Seven Governors Forum that protested during the Peoples Democratic Party’s special convention in 2013.

    Leader of the governors G-Seven group, Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is now the North-West Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential campaign team, recently said his five colleagues’ exit from the party will not affect the progress of the party.

    Lamido declared that the exit of Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara) and the impeached Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state, from PDP is inconsequential and of no effect to the success of the party in the forthcoming general election.

    But Kwankwaso took exception to Lamido’s utterances on the five governors, describing him as a betrayer.

    He said, “I don’t want to talk too much about the Governor of Jigawa State. Everybody know that he was part of us. He worked so hard. In fact, he was the leader of the group. He took us to a level that we felt there was no going back, and we were surprised that he had different things in mind. He stayed in the PDP and we felt we had no business being in PDP.

    “I think if there is anybody who should criticize our exit, I believe it shouldn’t come from him or the Governor of Niger State. I don’t want to join issues with any of my colleagues. Nigerians are the best judges on our actions and utterances and of course on what we have done. And I believe that judgment will be part of what will happen during the next elections.

    “What we have done is not a secret, it is not something that anybody can hide and I believe that we have done the right thing, we have deepened democracy. PDP is no more the monster it used to be where nobody was important, where people were not respected, even the governor of the most populous state who won election almost single-handedly within the party to come back as a governor.

    “I was not being respected and they see me as an irritant and so on, but I can tell you, now if there is anything they can do under the sun to take me back to their party, they will do. I can assure you now that they know the importance of Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in Nigerian politics. I have no business talking about my colleagues. You can bring another topic.”

    Kwankwaso also described the PDP as a dying elephant, saying the exit of former President Olusegun Obasanjo is an indication that the party is already dead.
    He said Obasanjo’s resignation confirmed the evil that is going in the party.

    The governor said, “Obasanjo has got supporters not only in Ogun State, not only in western states, but across the country, and for him to come out to say what he said (because most of us who have worked closely with him know that he is somebody who tolerates things). I have not seen him since he decided to leave the PDP, but I can comfortably say that so much must have happened in the party for him to come out and tear his card and said that he has left the party.

    Kwankwaso also described Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose’s recent statements against the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as reckless and unguided, saying such utterances should not emanate from a person who called himself a leader.

  • Lamido begs aggrieved members

    Lamido begs aggrieved members

    Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has urged members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to scuttle the party’s chances at the polls.

    He spoke at an emergency reconciliation meeting in the Government House, Dutse.

    It  was convened to use the elections’ postponement to reconcile aggrieved members, to ensure the party’s victory in the elections.

    The meeting, involving party stakeholders, was called on the request of the governorship campaign committee under the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mahamud.

    Governor  Lamido enjoined members, especially those aspiring for elective positions, to forgive, forget and unite to achieve the party’s goals.

    He said: “Whoever feels offended should take it as an act of Allah Almighty. You are  aware that everybody cannot be the governorship candidate. It must be one person, so also the remaining positions.

    “This is a family meeting, it is an opportunity to thank all of you for your efforts and commitment during the campaigns. There is need for more efforts and commitments in order to sweep the polls.”