Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed his confidence in the capacity and ability of the former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, to transform the country, if elected as Nigeria’s president in 2019.

Obasanjo’s remark was contained in a statement signed by the  Social Media aide to Lamido,  Mansur Ahmed, and made available to Daily Sun in Abeokuta, yesterday.

The presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accompanied by the Director General of Lamido Campaign Organisation, Musa Elayo, Sen. Josephine Anenih, Amb. Joe Keshi, retired AIG Kayode Theo, Alhaji Umaru Mai Shadai and Rahman Owokoniran, had earlier met with the former president at his residence inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL)  behind closed doors.

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Ahmed said the meeting was part of the consultation by the presidential aspirant with relevant stakeholders, elders, party officials and key political actors across Nigeria.

The statement quoted Obasanjo as saying “as a former minister of Foreign Affairs, Sule knows the world and knows how to relate with other countries of the world. I was so happy and elated by what I saw in Jigawa State when you became governor.

“Sule I don’t have any doubt about your attributes, your capacity, your courage, your interest about your state and Nigeria at large. Sule you can do it and you can do it well”.

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In his remark during the visit, Lamido informed Obasanjo that, “I have nothing to tell you about me because you know me more than anybody, I have come to greet you, brief you, seek for your blessings and ask for your fatherly advice.”

Lamido, had, during his interaction with party faithful in the state on Monday equally declared that despite the hounding and muscling of the opposition by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the party will lose 2019 general election, noting “this government is doomed to failure”.

He also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of destroying institutions of justice and rule of law in the country, saying the APC and the president were only grandstanding, stressing “Buhari and APC cannot win in 2019.”

The PDP presidential aspirant, further told journalists that rather than ensuring good governance in the country,  the Buhari-led government has embarked on blackmailing and hounding members of the opposition with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).  He added that poor Nigerians who voted for President Buhari are hungry and angry.

“This government is doomed to fail. You see God is a God of justice and a God of mercy. When Buhari was aspiring for the president, on three occasions, he was failing. When his time came, PDP was there, with security and those institutions, we lost. So, Buhari has been there because there was fairness and there was justice and rule of law. But having been there, he is now trying to muscle the institutions. And in his desperation, he is only fast-tracking his own downfall. Simple!

“This government cannot win election in 2019. It cannot. They are only grandstanding. See how they are panicking. Look at a senior member of our party; he’s been there for three years, they said he’s a thief and they used it to blackmail him. They tried it on Deputy Senate President, but he said no. They took him to EFCC, he was humiliated and interrogated. They want to break us, but they cannot. What God will do, He will do. This government is doomed to failure because in 2019, it will be flushed out. Nigerians who hold the power to vote are very poor, hungry and angry. They have no future and don’t see anything in the government other than lies. So, the government would pack up”, Lamido said.