Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has threatened to take legal action against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if the party fails to sell to him the nomination and expression of interest forms for the position of National Chairman.
Governor Lamido, who is seeking to contest the top seat at the party’s forthcoming national convention scheduled for Nov. 15 and 16 in Ibadan, issued the warning on Monday in Abuja during his visit to the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, to obtain the forms.
“If I am not able to get the form, I will go to court, simple,” Lamido declared after he was unable to purchase the forms.
The screening of aspirants for the convention, initially fixed for Tuesday, has been postponed by the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC).
Lamido expressed shock that the National Organising Secretary (NOS), whose office traditionally handles the sale of forms, said he was unaware of where the forms were kept or how many were printed.
When asked whether he had contacted the Convention Organising Committee, Lamido said he was unaware that the sale of forms had been transferred to the committee.
“I am not aware of that announcement. It’s a family affair entirely for the PDP family,
“There’s no controversy or division. I only came to the Secretariat because, by tradition, this is where forms are sold.
“If they are now being handled elsewhere, I’ll find out. Since the National Convention Committee chaired by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri is in charge, perhaps the forms are now in Adamawa maybe I’ll have to go there to buy mine, ” he said.
Lamido also dismissed claims that the North-West zone had endorsed Kabiru Turaki as a consensus candidate for the national chairmanship position, describing such reports as false.
“There was no stakeholders’ meeting where such a decision was reached.
“Consensus can only happen after proper consultation. Our zone hasn’t met at all. We were supposed to meet last Wednesday at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, but that meeting never held, ” he said.
The former governor urged the PDP leadership to put its house in order to ensure discipline, transparency, and unity ahead of future elections.
“The PDP must organise itself and run its affairs in line with its constitution and internal procedures.
“If the party is not well-coordinated, it cannot hope to win elections, ” he said.
Lamido also denied allegations that some PDP governors were opposed to his ambition because of his alleged links with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that such claims were unfounded.
Meanwhile, both the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, and the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who were present at the Secretariat during Lamido’s visit, said they were not aware of any directive regarding the sale or distribution of nomination forms for the convention.
Anyanwu, who is also a contestant in the coming convention, stated that he was yet to receive any communication on the number of forms printed or the process for their sale.
Bature, on his part, said that although his office was responsible for selling forms for party elections, he had not been briefed about any arrangement concerning the ongoing convention.
