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By Prosper Olayiwola

Ex-Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has taken taken a swipe at governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over their adoption of Minister for Special Duties Kabiru Tanimu Turaki as consensus chairmanship candidate.

The governors last week announced the decision, which has sparked controversy, ahead of the November 15 Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Sule chided the PDP governors for excluding him from the contest, saying that they had breached the time-tested procedure for leadership recruitment.

He threatened legal action should the party decline to sell a nomination form to him.

“They (governors) met me in PDP, for God’s sake. All of them met me in PDP. Where were they in 1998 (when the PDP was formed)? Where were they when we fought for the party all through the last 25 years? Don’t bring up issues that are very, very divisive. I don’t want to lose my composure,” Lamido told reporters at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja yesterday.

The former Foreign Affairs minister is one of the founders of the PDP. He was a leader of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in the Second Republic and National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), the party that produced the late Chief Moshood Abiola, during the aborted Third Republic.

Lamido accused the PDP governors of deliberately excluding him from the chairmanship race in favour of Turaki.

He said last week, when a meeting of the Northwest zonal leaders was fixed for Wednesday in Abuja, the governors met the previous day and announced Turaki’s choice as the consensus candidate.

Yesterday at the national secretariat of the party, his attempt to purchase the nomination form met a brick wall.

The office of the National Organising Secretary, where he expected to pick up the form, was locked.

Lamido said he was shocked to learn that the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, was unaware of the number of forms printed for sale.

Dismissing Turaki’s endorsement as a consensus candidate as a ruse, he said, “If I am not able to get the form, I will go to court. Simple.

We are now going into a convention, and by the party constitution, sales of forms are normally at the party headquarters. I came here to purchase my own form. That’s why I’m here.

“I went to the office of the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, which is normally the office where the forms are sold, and the office was locked. I think it was officially locked because of his own position. So, I met him with the Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu. I said, Look, I’m here to buy the form.

“Both of them said they had no idea where the forms are, not even how they were printed or the kind of forms that were printed, and they had no idea where they were being sold. So, I found it a little bit weird that the custodian of the system, who is the National Organising Secretary, is also being locked out because I’m coming in. So, they may not be able to go into the office.

I went to the Secretary of the Party, and the two of them were there. They said, ‘Look, we have no idea what is happening about the party nomination, sales of the form, or even how they are printed, or the kind of forms. So, I’m now stranded”.

Lamido, who rubbished the Turaki consensus, said: “Consensus? If there are consultations, there can be consensus. But if there are no consultations, then, we are not united on board. I mean, the zone where I come from, we never met.

“We were supposed to meet on Wednesday, and the Governor of Zamfara State (Dauda Lawal) booked a hall at Transcorp Hilton for us from the Northwest to meet and come up with some kind of understanding.

“But to pre-empt our meeting, they fixed a meeting for Tuesday. So, we never met. The zone never met. That’s the problem. But it’s not the last one.”

Lamido said the PDP should put its house in order to make a headway in future elections.

He stressed: “The PDP should be able to organise its own house to run the party based on the policies of the party, doing the right thing at all times. The only way we can win is by having a party that is disciplined party. If the party is not organised, if we don’t follow our own constitution and procedures, how do we win elections?

How will a non-united party even win elections? So, you see, my main concern is getting the PDP properly restored into a stable, united family that will be able to stay focused on the bigger picture ahead — saving Nigeria and Nigerians from the APC.”

The former governor also said he was not aware of the announcement by the National Convention Organising Committee that it had taken over activities leading to the convention

He said: “It has been extended. In any case, all decisions of the party must be made by the NEC. You know, any change of date or time must be approved by the NEC. But somehow, I think the entire function of the NEC has been taken over by individuals. And therefore, we’ll find out how it’s going to work out.

I’m an optimist. You know, it’s a family thing. We’ll never fight, no matter what, because we want to win the election. If we fight, we’ll lose. You know, our opponents are outside — APC. APC, not PDP. So, if you don’t have an organised house with a very organised force, how do you fight it out? So, please bear with us. Yes, it’s a family problem.

Lamido also objected to the hasty screening of aspirants, saying, “We have something called procedure and a system of doing things. Why the rush? Why this kind of cunny cunny thing, that kind of thing? It’s a family thing, for God’s sake.

But the screening, initially planned for today, has been postponed indefinitely.

All right? I can only contest if I buy the form. I cannot buy the form, which is to be sold by the National Organising Secretary, and he is locked up.

“I went to the Secretary of the party, and they had no idea where the forms had been sold. I was told they are now under the control of the Governor of Adamawa. So, for me to buy the form, I have to go to Adamawa and buy the form?

He dismissed the insinuation that the PDP governors sidelined him because of his closeness to senior figures in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Anyanwu and Umar said they knew nothing about the sale of forms, adding that their constitutional functions had been taken over by the convention committee.

Anyanwu, who said he has an ambition to contest for a position, emphasised that he does not know the number and colour of forms printed for the convention.

The Secretary said he was only aware that the zoning committee said all positions in the North should remain in the North and those in the South should remain in the South.

He therefore dismissed the micro-zoning of the Secretary to the Southwest.

Anyanwu insisted that his signature was forged in the letters to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the date of the convention in line with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, adding that the matter is currently being investigated.

He vowed that those responsible for the forgery would be brought to book.

Bature also insisted that he was not aware of the printing and sales of forms for any elective position, although it is the responsibility of his office to sell forms for elective positions.

The National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) has put on hold the screening of aspirants for the elective National Convention, earlier scheduled to hold today, due to unforeseen circumstances.

The chairman of the committee, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, said in a statement that a new date would be communicated.

He said: The NCOC regrets any inconveniences caused by the postponement. All Aspirants and members of our party should note the foregoing and be guided accordingly.

“The NCOC remains committed to delivering a credible, hitch-free 2025 Elective National Convention on Saturday, 15th to Sunday, 16th November 2025 in Ibadan, Oyo State.”

The Turaki Campaign Team dismissed Lamido’s claim that the consensus option was not a product of wide consultation..

The leader of the team, Alhaji Umar Sani, who spoke with reporters shortly after submitting Turaki’s nomination form, said the consultations were not restricted to the Northwest

He said Lamido, who was at the PDP National Secretariat to pick the nomination form, failed to follow to right procedure, adding that he went to the wrong place.

Sani said Turaki was not afraid of any contest, adding that he does not belong to any of the factions tearing apart the party.

He said: “First, let me say that today is not a day for selling forms. Today is a day for the submission of forms. So if Sule Lamido went to Wadata looking for forms, he went to the wrong place, because the party has stipulated which day you are supposed to go and buy forms, and which day you are supposed to submit the forms. So, we have just submitted our own.

“If they don’t have it at Wadata House, we have no business with that. Our own business is that we bought the form, we have filled the form, we have followed all due process, and we have submitted the form. It is the responsibility of the PDP to explain to you. It is not our responsibility. Ours is to contest, and we are contesting.”

On how Turaki got the form, Sani said: “The party has the powers, in line with the latest judgment of the Supreme Court, to decide how it wants to run its own internal affairs. So, how we got the form is immaterial. We have gotten the form, and we are contesting.”

Emphasising that there was consultation on consensus, he said: “As a student of history, I am sure you are aware of how the PDP has been handling its own affairs, right from the time of Solomon Lar to date.

“I was the first Administrative Secretary of the PDP in Kaduna State in 1998. I will let you know that apart from Solomon Lar, whom the G34 nominated to serve for only one year, to put the party on a sound footing, all other party chairmen were not exclusive of either the President or the Governors. All of them.

“Banabas Gemade was the product of Obasanjo. Audu Ogbe was the product of Obasanjo. Ahmadu Ali was the product of Obasanjo. Vincent Ogbulafor was Yar’adua’s choice. The next person who was the choice of Jonathan was Bamanga Tukur. Adamu Mu’azu was chosen by Jonathan.

When Adamu Muazu resigned, we all knew that Wike and Fayose brought Ali Modu Sheriff. After Sheriff, it was in Port Harcourt, I was there, when Babangida Aliyu, who was not even from our zone, nominated Makarfi, and he was made a Caretaker Committee Chair. After that, Uche Secondus was brought by Wike, and Iyorcha Ayu was brought by Samuel Ortom and Wike.

“So, the governors have an interest in the party. It is not about meeting in the Northwest, or whatever. The Chief Stakeholder in the North West, who is the Governor of Zamfara State, has aligned himself with the choice, which is very important.

“Consultations have been done because there was a meeting. It was not something that was announced. A meeting was held with all the relevant stakeholders in all the states in the North, adequately represented.

“The Governor of Zamfara State was there, the Governor of Adamawa State, Fintri, was there. I’m sure most of you know the meeting. So, I don’t have to even spoon-feed you with the information. And in that meeting, even the Governor of Taraba, who was not there, was represented by a Senator.

“So, they were all there, and the candidates were all there. They were asked to go and reconcile themselves. Why is Ibrahim Shekarau not arguing? He was also a contestant, and they were asked to go and reconcile among themselves. They came back and said they have left the choice to the governors, anybody they choose, they are okay with it.

“The governors went, held a brief meeting, and came back and said they have selected Turaki as the consensus candidate, and nobody present raised a finger in objection, nobody objected in the decision taken at the meeting.

Why is it that it’s after the meeting that people are going all about shouting? I think that is very unfair to Turaki. He didn’t choose himself.

“Turaki is not afraid of anybody. He has not defected from the PDP. He knows the internal workings of the PDP. Secondly, Turaki has been in this party for a very long time. He has never aspired to become a House of Representatives member, a Senator or a governor. He aspired to become President.

“Even when he aspired to become President and was defeated at the primaries in Porthacourt, he became the Director of Administration and Finance of the Presidential Campaign Council. So, he is very much aware that he has a responsibility. He has never run away from the party. He has never said that he would never attend any party meeting until somebody is removed.

He has always been in the party and has always provided his contributions where needed, both legal, financial, and otherwise. Now, if he is vested with the powers to continue to run the affairs of the party, he will put the party on a sound footing because he is neutral.

“He is neither with Wike nor the Governor’s Forum. He is an independent-minded person, and we hope that he will bring his wealth of experience, which he has gathered over the years, both as a legal practitioner and as a former Minister of Special Duties.”