2027: You are acting as a mole for Atiku — Babachir Lawal accuses Binani
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal has accused the the Adamawa State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed (popularly known as Binani) of acting as a mole to sabotage the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lawal alleged that Binani and a faction within the North-East zone are fifth columnists operating as covert agents for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to undermine the joint presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The former SGF’s statement is in response to a statement purportedly signed by six NDC governorship candidates from the North-East, who protested Lawal’s entry into the party and his subsequent appointment as the party’s leader in the North-East and North-Central zones.
Reacting to the development, Lawal dismissed the protest as a manufactured charade orchestrated by a political pretender who is secretly working to compromise the NDC from within.
He revealed that two of the candidates linked to the protest, Professor Mohammed Sani Yahaya of Taraba State and Dr. Babayo Ardo of Gombe State have since reached out to him directly to dissociate themselves from the petition, maintaining that their signatures were forged without their consent or knowledge.
Lawal explained that his appointment as the zonal leader was initiated and concluded entirely by the national leadership of the party alongside key coalition figures, including Senator Seriake Dickson, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
He noted that he accepted the responsibility in good faith as a holding position, driven by his commitment to the nationwide strategy and planning machinery of the Obi/Kwankwaso movement.
According to him, the open resistance to his leadership stems from panic among subversive elements loyal to Atiku, who realize their plans to undermine the Obi-Kwankwaso momentum in the northern region have been exposed.
He asserted that the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket commands massive grassroots support across the North-East and North-Central regions, warning that opposition parties are desperate to plant high-level operatives to halt an impending victory.
Taking a swipe at Binani, Lawal accused the Adamawa candidate of running a one-man show devoid of genuine grassroots mobilization.
He claimed that during an extensive tour of Adamawa’s 21 Local Government Areas between late August and early September, the NDC was virtually invisible, save for a solitary poster in Gombi.
He alleged that Binani handpicked candidates for legislative seats solely to stifle genuine political competition, a pattern he claimed defined her controversial past outings in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Lawal charged that rather than leveraging his national influence and political network to bolster her chances at the polls, Binani chose hostility out of fear that his presence would effectively shut down backchannel deals aimed at delivering the region to Atiku.
He urged party faithful, voters, and legitimate candidates across the six North-Eastern states to disregard the antics of those he described as wolves in sheep’s clothing.
He also emphasized that the party’s aspiring lawmakers across Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, and Borno stand to gain tremendously from the party’s presidential momentum, adding that the electorate must remain vigilant at polling units on election day to protect their votes, as no backroom manipulation or sabotage by internal spies will succeed.