***PDP Founding Father Accuses Tinubu of Hijacking History, Party Symbols
***Says True Democrats Stayed to Fight, Not Flee and Return for Glory
In a scathing political takedown, former Governor of Jigawa State and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Sule Lamido, has dismissed the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a hollow political shell, claiming it is merely the recycled carcass of PDP defectors.
“If PDP is dead, then APC is a ghost party. Most of its leaders are PDP products. Only Tinubu and Oshiomhole can claim the APC label. So if PDP has died, then what is left of APC is a haunted structure—soulless and borrowed,” Lamido charged.
Lamido made the comments during a no-holds-barred interview on Arise Television, where he also tore into President Bola Tinubu’s attempt to rewrite the story of June 12, accusing him of turning historical sacrifice into theatre.
“Tinubu entertains us with dramatics. But we were there. He only became active after Abacha took over. Before then, he was passive, even supportive of Babangida. His mother led Lagos market women to Abuja to endorse Babangida. That is history,” Lamido said.
“Those of us who stayed behind were detained. We fought. Tinubu and others fled abroad and returned only after the struggle ended. They inherited the product, not the process.”
The elder statesman warned Nigerians not to confuse political showmanship with democratic sacrifice, noting that NADECO, often hailed as a democracy movement, came late and was more reactive than revolutionary.
“NADECO was not for June 12. It was formed to fight Abacha. June 12’s real heroes were already standing up long before that,” he said.
Turning to the current government, Lamido accused President Tinubu of weaponizing national institutions for partisan interests, citing the use of the Presidential Villa for APC events.
“How do you explain turning the Villa—our national seat of power—into an APC clubhouse? That tells you this is no longer a Nigerian government. It’s a party government.”
He also criticized the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Pastor Umo Eno, for disowning the PDP after benefiting from it.
“Two years ago, nobody knew him. The PDP made him governor. Today, he disowns the very foundation that gave him relevance. That’s not politics; that’s betrayal.”
Lamido made it clear that his mission is beyond party lines—it’s about saving the country from what he calls a regime on autopilot.
“I am part of any arrangement—whatever the chemistry, name, or configuration—to remove this government of incompetence, insecurity, and ethnic division. Nigeria is bigger than any party.”
He rejected the comparison between his 2014 departure from the PDP and recent political defections, saying:
“We didn’t sneak out with PDP’s legacy. We fought for internal democracy. When I left PRP in 1983, I resigned. That’s integrity. Today, people switch parties and erase the past that built them.”
On his choice to support Atiku Abubakar in 2023, Lamido rejected the idea that it was about region: “Don’t bring North vs. South into my politics. I believe in Nigeria. In 1983, I supported Azikiwe. Go check the record.”
In an era of blurred loyalties and fading political memory, Sule Lamido’s sharp historical recall and defiance offered one clear message: PDP may be wounded, but APC never had a soul to begin with.