Posted by From Agaju Madugba in Kaduna on
Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Sule Lamido, at the weekend told newsmen in Kaduna that those calling on President Olusegun Obasanjo to groom a successor are ignorant of the inter-play of political dynamics in a presidential system.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Sule Lamido, at the weekend told newsmen in Kaduna that those calling on President Olusegun Obasanjo to groom a successor are ignorant of the inter-play of political dynamics in a presidential system.
He also chided politicians canvassing for the extension of the President's tenure beyond 2007 and described them as those who are merely seeking relevance.
While receiving members of the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU)/Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) who decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lamido said Obasanjo is not in a position to determine who succeeds him.
"It is the Nigerian people who voted Obasanjo into office, so, it is the same people who will decide who succeeds him.
"The President is not qualified to confer elective positions on people. So, it is bullshit to say that Obasanjo should hand over to (Vice President Abubakar) Atiku in 2007," he said.
According to Lamido, those involved in the campaigns to extend Obasanjo's tenure are indirectly seeking political relevance, adding that the President was elected into office through a process which would equally terminate the tenure.
Lamido said,"I believe in Obasanjo but this issue of continuity or whatever you call it,is being promoted by two groups of people.
"The first group comprises of those who do not have political relevance and therefore have to hang onto the President to make noise. They use his prestige. They use his political profile and the goodwill the President commands. So, they could be seen as working for him but they are actually working for themselves. Those who are close to the President have consistently denied that Obasanjo will stay beyond 2007.
"The other group are people who have also lost relevance.But they believe that it is through the President that they would be seen to be fighting a noble cause."
The campaign for Obasanjo to extend his tenure beyond 2007 when the constitution provides for his second term in office to expire gained momentum when the National Political Reforms Conference (NPRC) was in session.
Some delegates had tried to mobilise the conference to endorse an extended tenure for Obasanjo by getting the conference to recommend a six-year single tenure for the next president. The pro-extension delegates wanted the conference to endorse the commencement of the six-year tenure with Obasanjo. The idea was however defeated.
Outside the conference, some state governors were reported to be championing the third-term agenda in which the President will either stay for another two years or another four years after 2007. Another group even want Obasanjo to begin a fresh six-year tenure after 2007 which will end in 2013.
But Obasanjo has consistently stated that he intends to retire to his farms in Ota in 2007 as the chickens in his expansive farm are missing him.
Lamido equally decried what he described as the degenerating level of the polity and said leadership at various levels have abandoned the people who elected them into office.
He vowed to assist in the socio-political and economic transformation of the country,using the NEPU/PRP philosophy.
'Everything you do should centre around the people in terms of welfare,dignity and respect," he said.