By Juliet Umeh
Vice-presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Lawal Daura, says the party is involved in coalition discussions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Daura disclosed this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he also called for an inclusive approach to governance, saying Nigeria needed a “reset” to address what he described as recurring political and social problems.
“We are involved right now in the discussion for the coalition,” he said.
Explaining the APM’s “reset agenda,” Daura said Nigeria had been “moving in cycles without really making much or any progress.”
He said the agenda would bring Nigerians together to discuss the country’s direction and agree on how it should be governed.
“The reset agenda should be an all-inclusive thing. Let us get together as Nigerians.”
According to him, a government formed under the agenda would involve stakeholders beyond those who helped it win an election.
“Where you make an election or win your election to be the winner-takes-all is not going to help Nigeria,” he said.
Daura, a former Director-General of the Department of State Services, said his decision to enter politics was motivated by his desire to contribute to the country’s development.
“I felt maybe there is a need for me to come out and contribute,” he said, adding that joining the political process would allow him to contribute “more and better than when it is just maybe by the sidelines.”
He said his years in public service had given him insights into the country’s challenges, but added: “I play politics, but within the definition given by politicians in Nigeria, I would say I am not a politician.”
Daura said he initially sought the governorship of Katsina State after senior citizens approached him over insecurity in the state, which he described as an “epicentre” of banditry and kidnapping.
“I have made myself very clear right from the onset that whatever my people requested me to do, I would do. At my level, I can even become a local government chairman. I wouldn’t mind.”
He said his governorship bid through the African Democratic Congress did not proceed as he had hoped, citing the absence of primaries and concerns about compliance with electoral law. He said he declined suggestions that he seek a Senate seat instead.
Daura said he chose the APM after considering other parties, which he alleged faced internal leadership disputes or court cases. He called the APM “the only healthy party” at the time he joined and said it was expanding its reach.
“Right now, as I speak, APM is a party to beat,” he said.
Asked why he did not seek a Senate seat, Daura said the security situation required urgent action. “The Senate is not really a fire brigade station. The insecurity situation in Nigeria now or today demands a kind of a fire brigade approach.”
On the 2018 incident in which security operatives blocked access to the National Assembly while he headed the DSS, Daura said carrying out his duties did not make him undemocratic. He declined to disclose what he said was behind the action, saying the relevant material remained classified.
“If the same scenario appeared today, I would do the same,” he said.
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