Dare Babalola
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has welcomed Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State back to the All Progressives Congress (APC), recalling how Lawal was unjustly denied the party’s gubernatorial ticket in 2019, only to return as a sitting governor after winning the 2023 election on the PDP platform.
“I wholeheartedly welcome my brother and my bosom friend, Gov. of Zamfara State, H.E Dauda Lawal to the APC family,” Keyamo said in post he shared on Facebook on Tuesday, prefacing a revealing anecdote about Lawal’s political journey.
“In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Dauda Lawal was in the APC and we (his friends) did ‘EVERYTHING POSSIBLE’ to just secure the ticket for him to run as our candidate for the position of Governor of Zamfara State on the platform of the APC. He was cruelly denied that ticket and unjustly persecuted by rivals. We also rallied behind him to stop those persecutions,” he added.
Keyamo further revealed that the internal strife within the APC had led to the party’s loss of all its seats in Zamfara State in 2019.
However, he noted that Lawal’s determination and resilience had ultimately led him to secure the gubernatorial ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, which he won resoundingly.
“His rivals then fought themselves to stupor and we lost all our seats in Zamfara. In 2023, he then quietly left to the PDP, secured the ticket and resoundingly won the gubernatorial election.
“Today, he makes a triumphal return to the progressive family AS A SITTING GOVERNOR and leader of the Party in Zamfara State,” Keyamo said.
In a celebratory tone, Keyamo concluded, “Destiny can be delayed, but not denied. Welcome back home H.E, Governor Dauda Lawal.”
