Kalu to Lawal: Zamfara will lose if you refrain from playing politics with Tinubu.
Abia North Senator Orji Uzor Kalu asked Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal on Monday to resolve his political disputes with President Bola Tinubu in the best interests of the North-West state’s people.
Kalu, an All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, warned that if the governor failed to engage in political economics with the president, the people of Zamfara would miss out on significant development.
The senator spoke while commissioning the newly constructed Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the restored Zamfara College of Arts and Science in Gusau, Zamfara’s capital.
Kalu stated that he was not encouraging the governor to abandon his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and join the APC, but that he should keep a positive connection with the president, who is an APC powerbroker.
Kalu, who served as governor of Abia State from May 1999 to May 2007, stated that despite being a PDP member at the time, he had a positive connection with Tinubu, who was a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
The senator stated, “The president is more than just my brother; he is my buddy. People assumed we met while we were governors, but this was not the case. My children used to live at his place. Mrs Tinubu brought those daughters up because we lived in Abia, but they attended school in Lagos. They lived in Marina, at the president’s home.
“Whatever my political differences were with the president, we have resolved them, and we are now one. I want you to work out your political disagreements with the president.
“I understand you are a member of the PDP. I’m APC. The president is an APC member. Do PDP as a party, but do economic development as a Zamfara guy to help Zamfara develop.”
Kalu advised Lawal to use political economics to secure additional federal cash for the state’s development projects.
The senator stated, “If you abandon economic diplomacy in favour of politics, you will lose, as will the people of Zamfara. Go and take the federal funds. If you participate in politics, you forfeit federal funds. If you practise political economics, you can secure federal funds and improve Zamfara State.
“Former Governor (Abdul’aziz) Yari is from here, and so are you. You should come together and provide Zamfara (people) with the development and wire they require.
“This location requires the attention of the federal authorities. I’m not saying you should join their party, but you should get along well with them.
“Tinubu was not a member of our party while President Obasanjo was in government. I was the PDP’s governor. He was the only one who was not in the PDP, although we had similar beliefs.”
Governors Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta) recently defected from the PDP to the APC, giving the ruling party 23 out of 36 governors, a development some have labelled as an attempt to transform Nigeria into a one-party state.
The president angrily denied the claim during his Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2025.