The fragile peace within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been shattered as former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has publicly threatened to take legal action against his own party if he is systematically blocked from purchasing nomination forms for the position of National Chairman.
The dramatic confrontation unfolded on Monday at the party’s National Headquarters, Wadata Plaza in Abuja, where Lamido, a party chieftain, arrived with his supporters only to find the offices locked and officials claiming ignorance of the form sales process.
This incident lays bare the intense internal power struggle and procedural chaos threatening to undermine the party’s cohesion ahead of its crucial national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan.
The root of the current crisis lies in the party’s zoning arrangement and a controversial consensus move.
Following a National Executive Committee (NEC) decision that zoned the chairmanship to the North and micro-zoned it to the North-West, a faction of Northern PDP governors and leaders, led by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, endorsed former Minister Tanimu Turaki (SAN) as their consensus candidate.
However, Lamido and his supporters, allegedly backed by the party’s own National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, have cried foul, asserting that this decision was reached without any form of wider consultation with stakeholders from the North-West zone.
Lamido revealed that a planned meeting for the zone to deliberate was preempted by the governors’ unilateral announcement, creating a deep sense of alienation and imposition.
Arriving at Wadata Plaza to perform what he described as the traditional act of purchasing his form, Lamido was met with a surreal scene. The office of the National Organising Secretary was locked, and both the Secretary and the Organising Secretary claimed to have “no idea” where the forms were or how they were being sold.
While the Convention Organising Committee, chaired by Governor Fintiri, is operating from a separate annex, Lamido maintained that the forms should be accessible at the party’s headquarters.
Framing the issue as a matter of principle and internal discipline, the former governor issued a stark warning:
“And if I don’t get the form, I will go to court, simple.”
He argued that the only way the PDP can defeat the ruling APC is by being a disciplined and organized party that follows its own constitution, a standard he claims is currently being flouted.
With a second contender, former Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, reportedly backed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, also in the race, the stage is set for a bitter internal contest that could either strengthen the party through robust democracy or fracture it beyond repair just as it prepares for a pivotal national convention.
