Presidency sad over Lamido’s boycott of Jonathan’s campaign

The Presidency is very worried over the attitude of Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, to the campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan in his quest to return to Aso Rock on May 29, 2015.

Lamido, who was said to have been interested in contesting the party’s presidential primary, was among those allegedly forced to forgo their ambition because of the adoption of President Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate.

A lady, Prof. Akasoba Duke-Abiola, who defied the party’s endorsement of Jonathan and paid for its expression of interest form, was denied the form and could not participate in the party’s presidential primary.

Since then, Lamido is being seen as not committed to the Jonathan’s 2015 project.

The governor had at the different occasions complained about the refusal of the President to keep to the promises he made to the people of his state in 2011.

According to Punch, he had also vowed that keeping to such promises would determine if he and the people of the state would vote for Jonathan during the February 14 presidential election.

Though the President and the PDP had named him as the North-West presidential campaign co-ordinator, Lamido was absent when the President inaugurated the campaign committee in Abuja on Tuesday.

Lamido also refused to attend the flag-off of his party’s presidential campaign in Lagos on Thursday.

Apart from that, the PDP governorship candidate in Jigawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Ringim, was also not at the event to collect the party’s flag from the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.

He was Chief of Staff to Lamido. He resigned the position to contest the party’s governorship primary.

A Presidency official said that Lamido is only busy campaigning for Ringim as his successor.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “He (Lamido) has not told us why he refused to be at the rallies. Rather, he’s busy campaigning for his candidate. Though that is also alright, but we expected him to also identify with the President in the state and the zone, where he is the coordinator.”

A member of the National Working Committee of the PDP, who also spoke on the issue, said that the governor is under watch.