PDP Crisis: Ibadan convention merely a gathering of friends for entertainment

The former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has described the delegates who converged on Ibadan for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elective national convention on Saturday as individuals who merely gathered to entertain themselves.

Mr Lamido, an aggrieved PDP chieftain who was unable to purchase his nomination form to contest for the position of national chairman, made the remarks during an interview on Arise News on Sunday.

“PDP is a party of law and order. The gathering in Ibadan is not a convention which is legal. Therefore, anything done there is just unavoidable, whatever they may be called. They are only there to entertain themselves. The meeting in Ibadan is simply a gathering of friends for entertainment. It has no legal standing,” he said.

Mr Lamido, a former foreign affairs minister, had earlier filed a suit after he was barred from purchasing the nomination form to contest for the national chairmanship position.

Delivering judgement on 11 November, Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja halted the convention and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise it.

About a week earlier, some northern PDP leaders had endorsed a former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, as their consensus candidate for the chairmanship position, a decision Mr Lamido rejected, insisting he would still contest

On Friday, 14 November, just a few hours before the scheduled convention, Mr Lifu issued a final order halting the exercise until Mr Lamido was accommodated.

Despite the judgements, the party led by Umar Damagum, its national chairman, insisted it would go ahead with the convention. The convention was eventually held, during which the party expelled the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, embattled National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and eight others.

The party maintained that the expulsions were carried out in line with its constitution, which grants the national convention supreme authority over party matters, including disciplinary measures.

However, two PDP governors, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau States have rejected the expulsions.

Meanwhile, Kabiru Turaki, a minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, was elected the new national chairman during the convention. His emergence has fuelled speculation that Mr Jonathan might be preparing for a political comeback.

Although Mr Jonathan has not publicly declared interest in running for president again, some PDP leaders have called for him to become the party’s candidate in the 2027 election. The former president lost his reelection bid in 2015 to Muhammadu Buhari (now late) of the APC.

Why I went to court

When asked why he resorted to litigation instead of exploring internal reconciliation mechanisms, Mr Lamido, a foundation member of the PDP, said he had made several attempts to resolve issues internally without success.

“In the last two years, I have held so many meetings in people’s houses, in offices pleading that the party was going down,” he said.

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The former governor also accused PDP governors, lawmakers under the platform of the party and leaders of neglecting the party’s unity.

“Today, we have so many governors, parliamentarians and leaders who don’t even care. What is the purpose of having a party if not to win elections. People are not confident about Nigeria because they don’t believe the PDP is even capable of resolving its own problems. If you cannot organise yourselves, how do you go out and fight the APC,” he added

There was no convention

Mr Lamido insisted that the exercise conducted in Ibadan did not qualify as a convention due to the standing court order stopping it.

“I gather that the convention is something defined under our law, our regulations and our general constitution. And since there has been a court order restricting the convention from holding, there cannot be a convention. So if you say it is a convention, you can be sued for contempt of court,” he added

He stated that while other injunctions exist, the order issued in Abuja on Friday was the most recent and binding.

“Interests are very free to interpret the law based on their own interest. But the injunction from Ibadan is not the one in question. Mine was given on Friday at 3 o’clock, which is the latest. The order has been served on INEC. It has also been served on the PDP. They are aware of this. Therefore, if you say they are holding a convention, you can be held for contempt of the general purpose.”