Why Gov Lamido is moving against Jonathan

Indications emerged, weekend, that Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State had openly rejected the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Although there had been speculations in the past that Lamido was unhappy with Jonathan over the way he had been treated by the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the president’s unfulfilled promises to the state, Lamido openly voiced his opposition to Jonathan’s candidacy at a PDP rally in Dutse on Saturday.

Apparently to send Lamido’s message loud and clear to the Presidency, the event which was held at the state capital, was transmitted live via a private television station with national coverage.

Again, to prove his anger against Jonathan, the organisers of the PDP event deliberately and carefully avoided displaying the President’s posters throughout the rally.

On the other hand, the campaign posters of the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state and those of other contestants for the state and national elections were conspicuously and generously displayed.

Besides, rather than await the President to present the flags to the PDP candidates as is the custom of the party, the governor went ahead to perform the event, apparently preventing Jonathan from performing the political tradition just before elections.

None of the candidates canvassed for support for Jonathan throughout the rally, which was well attended by the members of the party in the state.

Vanguard learnt from a top source in Dutse on Sunday that Lamido felt bitter and betrayed by both Jonathan and the PDP for not doing any tangible project in Jigawa State after he had risked his life and those of his family members to work for Jonathan’s victory in 2011.

The source pointed out that the refusal or the inability of Jonathan to undertake any of the four key projects, which he openly promised the people during his 2011 campaign had pitted the governor against the political leaders and people of the state.

President Jonathan, it was learnt, had promised to build a cargo airport in Dutse, rebuild broken federal roads abandoned in the state for over 20 years, construct a dam at Auyo and build a major waterworks in the capital, four promises yet to be fulfilled with less than two months to the next polls.

It was also revealed out of the N15 billion spent by state government on the building of the Duste International Airport, which Jonathan commissioned on October 21 this year, the Federal Government had only chipped in less than a billion.

A top source in the state confided in Vanguard that Lamido was being portrayed as a traitor by most of the citizens, who see him as supporting Jonathan for personal reasons but working against their interest.