Speaking during an interview on Beyond the Headlines aired Tuesday on TVC News, Lawal said although these individuals have not publicly declared their support, they are aligned with the coalition’s goal of unseating the current administration.
“Yes, there are APC members working with the coalition], and they will speak for themselves. Some might not be brave or bold enough to do it the way I have, but there are very many—some tell me, including some governors,” he said.
Lawal, who officially resigned from the ruling on June 29, stated that he had long worked against the party even as a member, citing that the party has never been united and has a culture of intimidation and suppression of dissenting voices.
He said, “We’re in a democracy; even if you’re in a political party, you can choose to support a better candidate in another political party. I’m learning a template from APC: this template of remaining in one party and working for another. This is a script APC developed, which Wike has enhanced and grown beyond imagination. Wike is our leader in this type of politics.
“The APC has never been united; it’s been a party that has been intimidated and bullied into silence. No internal cohesion; you cannot even advise. Even advice is taken as anti-party. So, many people got frustrated that you cannot talk truth to power in APC.”
He further argued that President Bola Tinubu’s leadership had disappointed some of his former allies, prompting them to seek alternatives.
“A lot of us are people whose primary aim is to replace this government with a better government that serves Nigerians better. If you want to serve this country better, you need to do so from the angle of politics, policies, governance, and leadership. You need to replace the non-performing party,” he said.
“So, there’s nothing wrong if people who were hitherto in APC, allies of Tinubu, have been disappointed in the way he has chosen to run his government or allow others to run his government. There’s nothing wrong if we decide to come together to make a change.
Lawal also mocked the recent trend of defections into the APC, claiming many governors were only joining to secure their political future, not out of popular support.
He said, “It’s true the governors are decamping. Why are they decamping to the APC? Because they know the president has given himself an automatic ticket, there will be no primaries, and no other candidate will be allowed to raise their head.
“Most of the governors understand that this government is a government that wrote results to become what they are. So, they can write you out even in your own convention in an opposition party.
“So, all these governors are moving to APC to secure their next elections. However, the governors are moving, but nobody is moving with them; the people are not.”
Coalition, not Atiku’s project
On the broader objectives of the coalition, the former SGF dismissed notions it’s a project headed by former president Atiku Abubakar, stating that it is not centred on any single political figure but is built on the understanding that unseating an incumbent requires collective effort.
“The coalition is not about Atiku. I’ve attended meetings tilted towards Obi, Atiku, and Amaechi. Atiku has never spoken in all our meetings, except the last meeting, where he was asked to speak.
“Before we started the coalition, we told everybody that has political ambition to lock it down in a cupboard. because the understanding is that no one person can defeat an incumbent government. Peter Obi understands that with his Obedient movement, he cannot win this election on a standalone basis. Ameachi understands, and Atiku too; we must have a coalition, get together, join forces, join ideas, and work to defeat this government.”
