Former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has asserted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has never been a serious political party, describing it as a creation born from “anger, malice, and bitterness.”
Lamido made these remarks in chapter 16, page 421 of his autobiography, Being True To Myself, which was unveiled to the public on May 13th. In his book, the former governor, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressed his astonishment upon learning that some of his PDP colleagues had defected to the opposition ahead of the 2015 elections. He emphasized that he did not hesitate to distance himself from their decision.
“I once had cause to explain to some members of the public after the APC was formed, that it was created out of anger, malice and hatred. It was not and has never been a serious political party; its proponents were only parochial scavengers, who see politics as a huge enterprise,” Lamido stated.
He elaborated on the historical context leading to the APC’s formation, reflecting on the political landscape of 1999 when the PDP, AD, and APP were the three major national parties. He noted that the AD and APP had jointly fielded Olu Falae against the PDP’s candidate, Olusegun Obasanjo, who ultimately won the election.
“The AD/APP alliance later dissolved into the ANPP, but they lost the elections; it was these losers that later came together to establish the APC. What the APC did was to turn history upside down and promote a so-called ‘Mr. Integrity’ and hoodwinked Nigerians with false tags,” he said.
Lamido also recounted his refusal to join the APC, despite multiple requests from its promoters during a time of internal strife within the PDP. He argued that the honorable course of action was to remain with the PDP and contribute to resolving the party’s challenges.