- Dismissed endorsement of Turaki as North’s consensus candidate
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
A former Governor of Jigawa State, Mallam Sule Lamido has threatened legal action against the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) should the party fail to sell nomination form to him to contest for the position of the National Chairman at its forthcoming convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The party’s National convention is slated to hold in Ibadan between November 15 and 16 this year.
Lamido, who arrived the Wadata House national secretariat of the PDP in Abuja around 10am on Monday with the intention to obtain the nomination form for the National Chairmanship position, said he was shocked to learn that the National Organising Secretary was unaware of the number of forms printed for sale.
Continuing, he said, ‘Well, first, let me be very, very clear. You see, PDP is a family of wonderful Nigerians, who share a similar commitment to Nigeria and democracy. So, coming here is like coming home, to the family. There’s nothing new about it.
“Secondly, because we are now going into a convention, and by the party’s constitution, sales of forms are normally at the party headquarters, I came here to purchase my own form. That’s why I’m here.
‘Well, I went to the office of the National Organizing Secretary, which is normally the office where the forms are sold, and the office was locked. I think it was officially locked, you know, 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 they are. They had no idea where they were being sold.
“So, I found it a 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 National 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”, he said.
Asked what he will do, if he was unable to get the form, the former Governor said, “If I don’t get the form, I’ll go to court. Simple”.
Lamido dismissed the endorsement of former Minister of Special Duties under the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Kabiru Taminu Turaki, SAN, as the Northern consensus candidate for the National Chairmanship position of PDP.
His words: “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 came from, we never met.
“We were supposed to meet on Wednesday (last week),
and the Governor of Zamfara state booked a hall at Transcorp Hilton for us from the Northwest to meet and came 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 advised strongly that the PDP must put its house in order to make a headway in future elections
In his words, “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. 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.”
Responding to a question on the efforts he had made to contact the National Convention Organising Committee on how to obtain the form in view of the earlier announcement that the committee was taking over all activities leading to the convention, the former governor and one of the founding members of the PDP said, “I am not aware of this announcement. It’s a family affair. I mean, it’s entirely for the family. There is no controversy. There is no division. There is no hassle.
“You know, if you don’t get organised, how will you run a political party? So, what they did in terms of the announcement, I have no idea. I’ve never heard of it.
“By tradition, I should know where the forms are being sold. That’s why I came here (Wadata House). So, if they are being sold somewhere else, then I’ll find out where, because they are now under the chairmanship of the National Convention Organizing Committee.
“Fintiri is now holding the forms. So, do I have to go to Adamawa to buy the form?, he queried.
“They “(the governors) met me in PDP, for God’s sake. All of them met me in PDP. Where were they in 1998? 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”, he said.
