Dr Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has stated unequivocally that he would never support former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambitions.
He asserted that Atiku’s bid for the presidency would fail because it would amount to the changeover of power from one Muslim Fulani president to another Muslim Fulani president and be the worst type of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The former SGF issued a warning, saying that if Atiku got his way, it would signify racial dominance of one ethnic group over another.
Babachir Lawal reaffirmed his commitment to seeing Labour Party candidate Peter Obi’s ambitions realised in the 2023 general elections.
The reaction of the former SGF was provoked by trending news that he has abandoned Peter Obi to work for Atiku.
In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, Babachir Lawal dismissed the news insisting that he would not support any Fulani person that may undermine Nigeria’s unity through religion or ethnicity.
The statement reads in part: “I have just seen a trending news that I have abandoned Peter Obi to work for Atiku Abubakar.
There is nothing far from the truth as this. I have never contemplated joining PDP since its formation as I view the PDP as the worst form of a collection of oligarchs and reactionaries.
“Besides, I find myself every year battling Fulani herdsmen determined to have their animals invade my farms and eat up my crops every year. This is aside from their determination to take over the ancestral farmlands of my kinsmen as they do everywhere in the North. All these they do in a cavalier manner while their elite kinsmen dominant in the government keep mute.
“Moreover, I view a transition of government from one Muslim Fulani President to another as the worst form of Muslim-Muslim ticket. It also represents ethnic domination by one ethnic group over others. I remain a Peter Obi diehard. Any news to the contrary is fake news.”