Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa, has threatened to take legal action against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if the party fails to sell him the nomination and expression of interest forms for the position of national chairman.
Lamido, who is seeking to contest the chairmanship seat at the party’s forthcoming national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, issued the warning on Monday in Abuja after visiting the PDP national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, to purchase the forms.
“If I am not able to get the form, I will go to court, simple,” Lamido told journalists after his attempt to obtain the forms was unsuccessful.
NAN reports that the screening of aspirants earlier scheduled for Tuesday was postponed by the national convention organising committee (NCOC).
Lamido expressed shock that the party’s national organising secretary (NOS) was unaware of who was in possession of the forms or how many had been printed for sale.
When asked if he had contacted the NCOC, which is officially in charge of the process, Lamido said he was not aware that the committee was handling the sales.
“I am not aware of this announcement. It’s a family affair. There is no controversy or division. But if the forms are being sold somewhere else, then I’ll find out where, because the NCOC chairman, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, is now holding the forms. So, I have to go to Adamawa and buy the form,” he said.
The former governor also dismissed claims that a consensus had been reached in favour of Tanimu Turaki, former minister of special duties, as the north’s preferred candidate for the chairmanship position.
“Consensus? If there are consultations, there can be consensus. But if there are no consultations, then we are not united. The zone where I came from never met,” Lamido said.
He explained that a meeting of north-west stakeholders scheduled for last Wednesday at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, reportedly convened by the Zamfara state governor, never held.
“The zone never met. That’s the problem. But it’s not the last one,” he added.
Lamido urged the PDP to put its internal structures in order ahead of future elections, saying the party’s strength depends on discipline and adherence to its constitution.
“PDP should be able to organise its house and do the right thing at all times. The only way we can win is by having a party that is disciplined. If we don’t follow our own procedures, how do we win elections?” he said.
He also dismissed suggestions that governors in the party were opposed to his ambition over alleged links to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Meanwhile, Umar Bature, PDP’s national organising secretary, and Samuel Anyanwu, national secretary — who were in the office during Lamido’s visit — both said they were unaware of the process for printing and selling the convention forms.
Anyanwu, who also has his own ambition to contest at the convention, said he was equally uninformed about how many forms were printed.
Bature confirmed that although his office is ordinarily responsible for form sales, he had not been briefed on the current arrangements for the exercise.
