Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has urged Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, to set aside political grudges and mend fences with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, warning that continued friction could deprive the people of Zamfara of critical development benefits.
Kalu, a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Abia State, delivered the blunt political advice during the commissioning of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the renovated Zamfara College of Arts and Science in the state capital, Gusau.
“I’m not telling you to defect to APC,” Kalu said. “But play smart. Be friendly with the President. If you isolate yourself politically, you isolate Zamfara from development.”
The senator, who governed Abia from 1999 to 2007 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), recounted how despite party differences, he maintained a close personal and political bond with Tinubu during their time as governors.
“Tinubu was not in the PDP when Obasanjo was President, yet we worked together. I didn’t dump my party, but I didn’t cut myself off from federal power either,” Kalu said. “You can do PDP, but do development like a true Zamfara man.”
Kalu didn’t mince words about the stakes involved. He warned that choosing politics over pragmatism would be a disservice to Zamfara’s people.
“If you do politics, you leave the federal money behind. If you do political economics, you bring in federal funds and grow the state,” he added, urging Governor Lawal to emulate strategic collaboration with Tinubu and former Governor Abdul'aziz Yari for the state's growth.
The remarks come amid growing unease over the APC’s rising dominance. With recent defections by Governors Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta) to the APC, the ruling party now controls 23 out of Nigeria’s 36 states, sparking concerns over a creeping one-party state.
While President Tinubu denied such intentions in his Democracy Day address on June 12, 2025, critics remain wary.
