Lamido threatens court action after being denied PDP nomination form

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has threatened to take legal action against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after he was unable to purchase the nomination form for the position of National Chairman ahead of the party’s forthcoming national convention.

Lamido made the threat in Abuja on Monday after arriving at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, with his supporters to obtain the form. He met most offices locked and could not find any official authorised to sell him the nomination documents.

The party’s national convention is scheduled to take place on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.According to Lamido, the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the National Organising Secretary, Umaru Bature, who should normally oversee the sale of forms, said they had no idea where the forms were being distributed or who was in charge of the process.

The situation comes weeks after the party’s National Executive Committee met in Abuja and zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, while assigning the position of National Chairman to the North.

The chairmanship position was later micro-zoned to the North-West, where Lamido hails from.However, the zoning arrangement has caused friction within the party, as Northern PDP governors led by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, and other senior members endorsed former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, as the consensus candidate for National Chairman.

Lamido and some Northern stakeholders rejected the decision, claiming that no consultations were held before the endorsement. They accused the governors of trying to impose a candidate on the party without involving all relevant stakeholders in the North-West.

Lamido said the lack of access to the nomination forms showed that some party officials were deliberately blocking him from contesting. He noted that if the issue was not resolved, he would take the matter to court to protect his right to contest for the position.

He also questioned why the National Convention Organising Committee, led by Governor Fintiri, was operating from the party’s annex office in Maitama instead of the main secretariat at Wadata Plaza, where the sale of forms had always been conducted.

Lamido criticised the growing influence of a few individuals in the party, saying that key decisions, such as changes in timelines and convention arrangements, should be approved by the National Executive Committee and not handled unilaterally.

The former governor maintained that his interest in the chairmanship race was driven by his desire to rebuild the PDP into a united and disciplined organisation capable of challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in future elections.

He said the party must adhere to its constitution and internal procedures if it hopes to regain the trust of Nigerians.Lamido also rejected the claim that Northern leaders had agreed on a consensus candidate, insisting that no formal meeting was held in the North-West zone to take such a decision.

He said an earlier plan for a meeting in Abuja was preempted by another gathering organised by the governors to fast-track the endorsement of Turaki.

He urged the PDP leadership to ensure fairness and transparency in the buildup to the national convention, warning that internal manipulation could further deepen divisions within the party ahead of the 2027 elections.