- ….Ex-Jigawa governor says court injunction invalidates Ibadan gathering
Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has rejected the legitimacy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention held in Ibadan on Saturday, insisting the exercise violated a subsisting court order and should therefore be considered null and void.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News, Lamido said an injunction obtained by him on Friday afternoon and served on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP — expressly barred the convention from taking place.
Lamido argued that any gathering described as a convention in defiance of the injunction amounted to contempt of court.
“The convention is defined by law,” he said. “Since there is a court order stopping it, there cannot be a convention. If anyone insists otherwise, they can be sued for contempt.”
He stressed that the order he secured was “the latest” and therefore superseded all earlier rulings that some party members had cited as grounds for proceeding with the event.
“The Ibadan order is not the one in contention. Mine was issued at three o’clock on Friday and served on INEC and the PDP.
”They are fully aware. Anyone claiming that a convention was held risks contempt of the general purpose of the court,” he added.
Lamido also dismissed comments from PDP elder Chief Bode George, who had accused him of misunderstanding the party’s internal procedures.
“I watched him and was highly entertained.
“He is a military man. He has no idea how the PDP was formed in 1998, the philosophy behind it, or the dreams we had.
”He simply came in under Obasanjo, ” he said.
He went further to describe George as a “paracivilian,” arguing that he has not completely transitioned out of military-style thinking.
“That group which has now been suspended it was led by Bode George.
“He was their political leader and the elder who encouraged their rebellion against the party, ” he added.
The former governor was emphatic that the Ibadan exercise could not be recognised as a lawful convention.
“The PDP is a party founded on law and order.
“The gathering in Ibadan is not a legal convention. Whatever they chose to call it is immaterial.
” It was simply a meeting of friends entertaining themselves. It has no legal standing, ” he said.
Responding to criticism that he should have sought internal reconciliation instead of litigation, Lamido said he had exhausted all avenues over a two-year period.
“In the last two years I have held numerous meetings, in homes, in offices pleading that the party was sinking.
“Today we have governors and leaders who do not even care. What is the purpose of having a party if not to win elections?”
He warned that the PDP’s inability to manage its own internal affairs had damaged public trust.
“People no longer believe the PDP can even resolve its own problems. If you cannot organise yourselves, how do you compete with the APC?” he asked.
Despite his sharp criticism, Lamido said the path forward still required unity and personal concessions.
“We need to be more forgiving, more tolerant. We must make sacrifices for the sake of the PDP and the generations coming after us,” he said.
