• Says insecurity, hunger, poverty compelled his return to active politics
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, on Tuesday formally joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), declaring that worsening insecurity, hunger, poverty and economic hardship compelled him to return to active politics.
Lawal, who recently resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following disagreements over its presidential primary, said he had initially decided to retire from partisan politics but was forced to reconsider after reflecting on the hardship confronting Nigerians.
Speaking at the Abuja residence of former Bayelsa State Governor and NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, Lawal said Nigerians concerned about the country’s condition have a responsibility to support the NDC presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
He said: “Anybody at all in Nigeria that has the interest of our country at heart, that has sympathy for the suffering that is going on in our country, be it insecurity, economic deprivation, hunger, ignorance and disease will have no choice but to join the party that presents Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso as the presidential candidates.”
Lawal said his experiences in the APC and later the ADC had left him disillusioned with partisan politics, adding that he had remained in the APC largely because of his support for its former presidential candidate, the late Muhammadu Buhari.
He said his decision to return was also influenced by concerns about the future of his children and fellow Nigerians living under difficult economic conditions.
“I looked at my life, I looked at the future of my children… I looked at the poverty, hunger and insecurity that my neighbours, my colleagues are living under,” he said.
The former SGF said he had therefore concluded that supporting Obi and Kwankwaso was the appropriate political choice.
“I think I have made a proper choice by coming out of my retirement and once again join Peter Obi,” he said.
Receiving Lawal into the NDC, Dickson described him as an experienced politician, organiser and mobiliser whose entry would strengthen the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
Dickson subsequently assigned Lawal responsibility for coordinating the NDC’s political activities and campaigns in the North-east and North-central geopolitical zones, including providing leadership for the party’s candidates and campaign structures in the two zones.
He also urged Lawal to deploy his extensive political contacts beyond the two zones to advance the party’s national campaign.
Dickson said the NDC would demonstrate its organisational strength as its 2027 campaign activities unfold.
The NDC leader also condemned alleged attacks on opposition parties in parts of the country and urged security agencies to protect political parties and ensure that their members were allowed to campaign without intimidation.
Lawal’s defection marks a significant shift in the opposition realignment ahead of the 2027 general election, coming months after he publicly criticised Obi and ruled out the NDC following Obi and Kwankwaso’s departure from the ADC.
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