The Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto State, Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida, has declared that the era of non-indigenes taking the hospitality of Sokoto people for granted is over.
He said: “While Sokoto will remain a welcoming and accommodating state, that generosity must never be repaid with betrayal or insults.”
According to him: “Senator Ibrahim Lamido is not from Sokoto State; he is from Zamfara State. If he wishes to contest the 2027 elections, he should do so in his home state. He is welcome to live in Sokoto like every other law-abiding Nigerian, but certainly not as a future political representative of our people.”
Achida dismissed reports that Lamido is leading a faction of the APC in the state, insisting that the party owes him neither an apology nor reconciliation because it had not wronged him. Instead, he accused Lamido of waging a relentless campaign against the party in Sokoto.
“There is nothing to reconcile with Senator Lamido. The APC did absolutely nothing to him. He has been the one fighting the party from within. And even if reconciliation were to occur, we would never trust him with the senatorial ticket again. A leopard doesn’t change its spots,” Achida said.
The Sokoto APC chairman also expressed outrage over Lamido’s verbal attacks on Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, the party leader in the state.
“How on earth can Lamido insult Senator Wamakko? That was the final red line. Senator Wamakko made it possible for him to be a senator. His betrayal is unforgivable.”
Achida described Lamido as a “political liability” who could not even win his polling unit, let alone his local government area, in the 2023 general elections. “How can such a man be a factional leader of the party?” Achida queried.
“We gave him the platform, we gave him the structure, and he unfortunately turned against us. He has bitten the very hand that fed him. His political career is over. Both the APC and the people have disowned him.”
Achida also dismissed the political relevance of both Lamido and Senator Abubakar Umar Gada, who claimed to have poached APC members into the ADC, the coalition aimed at challenging the APC in the 2027 elections.
Regarding Gada, Achida was blunt: “In the 2023 governorship election, Gada got just over 3,500 votes across the entire state. That’s less than what a strong candidate gets in one polling ward. He has no base and no future in Sokoto State politics.”
Alhaji Isa Sadiq Achida stressed that the APC remains united, strong, and focused under Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto and its father-mentor, Senator Wamakko, and is unfazed by media hype about so-called factions or coalitions.
“Our party is not under any threat from these self-serving individuals. The real APC is intact, working, and delivering dividends of democracy to the people. And the people of Sokoto State have seen the difference.”
He described both Lamido and Gada as “political opportunists” with no grassroots credibility or electoral value.