I Nearly Begged Yar’Adua On My Knees To Avoid Obasanjo Clash – Lamido Reveals

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has revealed that he was nearly moved to his knees in an effort to plead with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua not to engage in conflict with his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Lamido recounted that during Yar’Adua’s tenure, certain events unfolded where Obasanjo was openly targeted, particularly by close associates of the president.

This revelation is detailed in Lamido’s autobiography, “Being True To Myself,” on pages 257 and 258, launched publicly on May 13, 2025.

According to Lamido, one of the flashpoints was a debate in the National Assembly regarding the $16 billion National Independent Power Project (NIPP). He said:

“If that debate had been spearheaded by an opposition member, it would be understandable. But it was led by a prominent PDP lawmaker and known ally of Yar’Adua from Katsina State.

“The narrative being pushed was that Obasanjo embezzled $16 billion and abandoned the projects — a claim which was eventually proven untrue.”

Lamido said he approached Yar’Adua about the situation, but the president curtly responded that the matter was being handled by “an independent arm of government.”

He further narrated a more personal experience involving Yar’Adua’s Chief Security Officer, Tilde, who once called him in Dutse during his time as governor. When Lamido mentioned he was in his state capital, Tilde sarcastically replied, “I thought you were in Ota with your President.”

Lamido said he was stunned by the remark and, after recovering from the shock, verbally lashed out at the CSO, warning him he would report the incident to the president.

In a bid to pacify Lamido, Tilde then said, “Sorry sir, I just called to inform you that we received a petition against you addressed to the President, and I can help suppress it.”