By Adesina Soyooye
In response to the garb thrown its way and that of President Bola Tinubu by Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has dismissed him as a politician without clout who thinks himself as big and important, when he is the opposite.
Lawal, a former staunch member of the APC who parted ways with the Party and its Presidential Candidate, now Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, in a statement on Monday said Peter Obi won the Presidential Election of February 25, 2023, not Tinubu. Obi is the Candidate of the Labour Party, and was supported fully by Lawal.
Lawal criticised Tinubu’s Government as well as his political appointees, especially, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Yemi Cardoso and Minister of State, Defence, Bello Matawalle. He called them unfit for the job.
He said Tinubu was third in the Presidential Election behind Obi and the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and advised that given the controversies surrounding Tinubu and his Government since his Presidency, he should take the honourable path and resign from office.
But in response to Lawal, the APC, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Babachir Lawal is filled with bitterness because Tinubu refused to pick him as his running mate. The party noted that Obi’s defeat has done “incalculable damage” to the former SGF’s “psyche”, and dismissed him as one without any political clout.
The statement, also, accused Lawal of “peddling gibberish, rather than learn from his political misadventure with equanimity.”
Said Morka: “Clearly, the defeat of his principal, Peter Obi, at the poll has done incalculable damage to Mr. Lawal’s psyche and his capacity for rational thought as evident in his analysis based entirely on the figment of his warped imagination rather than on hard facts and figures. A clear sign of his disconnect from reality was his reference to the election held in May 2023, rather than February.
“We challenge Babachir Lawal to give a detailed breakdown of his so-called ‘aggregated facts sourced from independent sources,’ which he claimed proved that Obi won the election or forever keep mute.
“That he did not provide these facts to help Obi prove his case before the Presidential Elections Petitions Court is a massive disservice if not betrayal of his political principal.
“Babachir Lawal ought to have known that running a jaundiced commentary on a matter before the Supreme Court is the height of irresponsibility.
“But he is still nursing bitterness and vindictiveness over his failed dream of running on a joint ticket with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Indeed, Babachir Lawal is in dire need of professional counseling and deserves our collective pity. It is obvious he may never get over the pain of being tossed into the dustbin of political ignominy by President Bola Tinubu who, against all odds, defeated Mr Peter Obi that exploited our religious and ethnic fault lines in his campaign for the nation’s highest office.
“Thankfully, Nigerians across all ethnic and religious divides, saw through Babachir Lawal’s and Peter Obi’s shenanigans and voted for the best candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“Furthermore, it is very uncharitable for Mr. Babachir Lawal to call to question the professional competence of President Tinubu’s appointees, some of whom he cannot hold a candle to their political and professional accomplishments.
“Babachir Lawal is one lightweight politician who thinks himself a heavyweight. He failed spectacularly as a politician in his State of Adamawa where in three election circles he could not deliver his ward and local government in his Hong Local Government.
“Despite his legendary failure as a politician, former President Muhammadu Buhari in deference to diversity appointed him to the high office of SGF where he was unceremoniously sacked on account of very poor performance and dishonourable conduct. A man like Babachir Lawal is in no position to offer an opinion on the competence of President Tinubu’s appointees.
“We are convinced that these appointees would justify the confidence reposed in them by the President by delivering on the promises of the Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration.
“And while they are at it, we would admonish Babachir Lawal to concentrate on managing his farm and stop constituting himself into a needless distraction unbefitting of his age and status.”
Lawal on Wednesday hit out again at the APC and labelled it an Islamic Party. As for Felix Morka, he called him “Mallam Felix” who will never be there when important decisions are taken.
