27 Facts About Sule Lamido

Sule Lamido was born on 30 August 1948 and is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Jigawa State from 2007 to 2015.

Sule Lamido previously served as the foreign affairs minister of Nigeria from 1999 to 2003.

Sule Lamido is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Sule Lamido entered politics as a member of the left-of-center People's Redemption Party in the Nigerian Second Republic.

Sule Lamido represented Birnin Kudu at the House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983.

Sule Lamido was imprisoned in 1998 by Abacha for criticising Abacha's plan to perpetuate himself in office.

Sule Lamido ran for Governor of Jigawa State in the 1999 elections at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, but was defeated by the All People's Party candidate Ibrahim Saminu Turaki.

In October 2006, Sule Lamido described Rimi as "a contradiction of his political past".

However, during a courtesy visit to Rimi in December 2007 Sule Lamido described him as a major factor that cannot be ignored in Nigerian politics.

Sule Lamido noted that hundreds of trafficked Nigerians had died while trying to cross the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

Sule Lamido wrote to Sadiq Yar'Adua, the president of the Committee, pointing out the risk of such a trip without background knowledge of the delicate balance of alliances.

In March 2003, Sule Lamido reacted to a claim by Governor Turaki of Jigawa State that the Federal government had neglected the state, calling on him to account for the way in which he had spent federal funds.

In May 2003, after the PDP had again lost the elections in Jigawa State, Sule Lamido claimed that the polls had been rigged in favor of the All Nigeria People's Party.

However, in April 2007, Sule Lamido contested and won the governorship election in Jigawa State with the help of the then incumbent governor, Saminu Turaki who had defected to the People's Democratic Party in months leading to the election.

Sule Lamido accused Lamido of intimidating Jigawa leaders not to stand as sureties.

In June 2007, Sule Lamido accused new generation banks of helping state governors to loot their treasuries, and called for tighter regulations.

In July 2007, Sule Lamido announced plans to spend N2 billion in the next six months on education, using the money to rebuild schools and provide basic teaching materials.

Sule Lamido initiated major construction programs, led by the Dutse Capital Development Authority and the Jigawa State Housing Authority.

In September 2009, Sule Lamido offered to provide free plots of land and basic infrastructure to investors in the tourism and hospitality business in Jigawa State.

In December 2009, Sule Lamido announced a plan by which beggars would be given a basic monthly payment to stay off the streets.

In December 2009, it was reported that Olusegun Obasanjo had started to lobby for Sule Lamido to be the PDP's vice presidential candidate in the 2011 elections.

Sule Lamido polled 676,307 votes, with runner-up Badaru Abubakar of the Action Congress of Nigeria scoring 343,177 votes.

In October 2017, Sule Lamido wrote his political associates and senior members of his party declaring interest to run for president in the 2019 presidential election.

In February 2018, Sule Lamido formally declared his candidacy in the run for PDP's presidential nomination for the 2019 presidential election at a rally he organised in his native Birni Kudu Local Government in Jigawa State.

In June 2018, Sule Lamido supporters organised a prayer session in Dutse towards his presidential campaign but was foiled by the police, citing security reasons.

Sule Lamido was one of the 12 candidates that ran for the PDP presidential nomination in November 2018.

Ahead of the party's primary, Atiku Abubakar asked Sule Lamido to withdraw from the race and support him but Sule Lamido refused saying he was a senior to Atiku.