Sule Lamido, the former governor of Jigawa State, has revealed that late President Umaru Yar’Adua disregarded his counsel and openly acknowledged the widespread irregularities in the 2007 general election that brought him to power.
In his newly released autobiography, Being True to Myself, Lamido recounted an incident at the first National Council of State meeting during Yar’Adua’s presidency.
Ahead of the meeting, Yar’Adua prepared to present a memo on electoral reforms, which included a preamble citing “large-scale irregularities in the conduct of the last elections.”
He said, “I went through the memo and became uncomfortable with the preamble, which started thus: “In view of the large-scale irregularities in the conduct of the last elections…” In the morning, before the council convened, I went to the President’s office and asked him whether he had read the memo he is presenting to the Council.
“He said, Yes Sule, I did. I said, I suggest you read it again. He opened the file which contained the memos. Yes Sule, I have read it, he said.”
Concerned about the implications of such a statement, Lamido advised the President to rephrase the wording to reflect a general desire for electoral reform, rather than directly questioning the legitimacy of the election outcome.
Despite Lamido’s warning that the language could undermine his own mandate and cast doubt on the integrity of key figures present, such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo and then-Chief Justice Katsina-Alu, Yar’Adua refused to alter the statement. During the meeting, he proceeded to read the memo as originally written, characterising the election as “massively irregular.”
Lamido observed that the declaration stunned other Council members, including Obasanjo and Justice Katsina-Alu, while Yar’Adua appeared unaffected by the reaction.
He said, “When the Council convened, President Yar’Adua read the memo, describing his own election as being ‘massively irregular’. I looked across the Council and observed the utter shock and bewilderment of President Obasanjo and Justice Katsina-Alu. I turned my gaze to President Yar’Adua who appeared unconcerned and totally indifferent to the thick atmosphere in the Council.”
