A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has said he and his camp are talking with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, rejected them by presenting a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Babachir stated this on Tuesday during a telephone interview with PUNCH.
Recall that Lawal and ex-Speaker, House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, had recently vowed to mobilise Northern Christians to reject the Tinubu/Shettima joint ticket in the 2023 elections.
The former SGF said the agitation against the Muslim-Muslim ticket represented the wish of people “demanding for fair and equitable representation.”
He said, “what we are doing is for the sake of Nigeria. Of the 18 political parties in the country, we are talking to the Peoples Democratic Party, the Labour Party, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party. It is only the APC that has rejected us; the other 17 parties have not. So, those three are in the foreground of our discussion for now, but no decision has been taken.”
Lawal argued that the fact that MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe ran on the Muslim-Muslim ticket in 1993 is not sufficient to replicate it in today’s Nigeria.
He noted that, “Yes, Abiola and Kingibe did it but was the election not annulled? Have these people bothered to find out why the election was annulled? I am a member of the APC but we are the voices of those who have been mistreated. Since it is too late to form our party now, we are evaluating the options before us.
“We are open to listening to parties that are receptive to us. You know, some people are friendlier than others. Whatever the outcome, we will let you know but to tell the truth, we are in talks.”
