Jonathan, EFCC Cannot Break Me – Lamido

                  
Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido yesterday said the arrest of his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha – by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged money laundering,
was part of a plot by President Goodluck Jonathan and the anti-graft body to silence and make him change his position.

Lamido is one of the seven aggrieved governors, who have stoutly opposed the leadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, and reportedly vowed to ensure that President Jonathan respects the terms of his purported single term pact, which he signed with some PDP governors in exchange for their support prior to the 2011 general elections.
Lamido, who made the claim yesterday when the Emir of Gumel, Alhaji Sani Ahmed paid him a courtesy call at the government house in Dutse, the state capital, told his political adversaries to dig deeper into their bag of ‘tricks’ and come up with something new because he is a veteran of political intimidation and harassments.
He said “some politicians believe that they can use intimidation and threat to have their way. In the last 30 years I have suffered all kinds of intimidation and harassment you can think of and so there is nothing new. All these harassments cannot break Sule Lamido.
“I am a human being and I can make mistake, but honestly speaking in the last six years I have tried my best for Jigawa State and even President Jonathan has testified to that severally when he visited Jigawa. I have tried to be just and fair in running affairs of this state to the best of my ability. Jonanthan, Lamurde (the EFCC chairman) and the SSS cannot say they love Jigawa State more than me. My culture and faith taught me justice and fairness”.
He added “I have been following all the tricks employed by the government to blackmail me. First, when Aminu was arrested in December last year over allege money laundering of 40,000 dollars, the Pilot owned by Jonathan wrote that Aminu was arrested with N3million. Three weeks later, the same paper said Aminu confessed that he laundered N37 billion for me in the last six years.
“They did not stop there. Government agents went to the Sultan of Sokoto and told him that Aminu had N2 billion in his private account. They also went to the National Assembly and told my allies there that Lamido’s son was found with N2billion in his account. All these were done to blackmail me, because they know I am close to the Sultan”.
Lamido, who vowed not waiver in the face of his political travails, laughed off the attempt by the presidency to use EFCC to paint him as a corrupt politician saying, “Whatever wants to happen, let it happen. I cannot apologize over my stand. If insisting on due process, internal party democracy, rule of law is a crime, I am ready to defend my stand. It is laughable that among all the 36 governors, it’s Lamido they want to tag with corruption”.