[5] During the Nigerian Third Republic, Lamido became National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, where he received criticism for his handling of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections won by Moshood Abiola, who was prevented from taking office.
[6] After Abacha's unexpected death in June 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar announced a revised transition strategy and new parties were formed to contest the 1999 elections.
[7] He 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 (APP) candidate Ibrahim Saminu Turaki.
[15] Speaking at the United Nations in November 2001, Lamido described the corrosive impact of corruption on new democracies such as Nigeria, and called for "an international instrument" against transfer of looted funds abroad.
[16] In January 2003, a nine-member Joint Committee of the House of Representatives visited Pakistan, apparently seeking to mediate in the dispute over Kashmir, without consulting the Foreign ministry.
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.
[18] In May 2003, after the PDP had again lost the elections in Jigawa State, Lamido claimed that the polls had been rigged in favor of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
[6] After the election, his predecessor Saminu Turaki was arraigned for alleged financial mismanagement and initially found it hard to get sureties required to secure his bail.
[22] In July 2007, 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.
[25] In September 2009, Lamido offered to provide free plots of land and basic infrastructure to investors in the tourism and hospitality business in Jigawa State.
[30] In October 2017, Lamido wrote his political associates and senior members of his party (PDP) declaring interest to run for president in the 2019 presidential election.
[37][38] Others were Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Jonah Jang, David Mark, Kabiru Turaki, Dati Baba-Ahmed, Attahiru Bafarawa and Ahmed Makarfi.