Lamido Files Legal Process Challenging His Exclusion from PDP Chairmanship Contest

•Seeks order restraining screening committee 

•You risk sanction by suing party, says George

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has begun legal processes to challenge his exclusion from nomination for the chairmanship of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Lamido told THISDAY that he was at the Federal High Court on Tuesday and concluded the filing of his court papers yesterday.

He confirmed that he met with his lawyers on Tuesday and had sworn to an affidavit attached to the originating summons, expected to have been filed before the Federal High Court yesterday.

It was further gathered that the legal team approached the court with an ex parte motion seeking to halt the screening process for former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabir Tanimu Turaki, as the sole candidate for the chairmanship position.

Turaki’s emergence followed his endorsement by PDP governors from the northern states and other senior party figures and the submission of his nomination form on Monday.

Lamido had vowed on Monday to seek legal redress after allegedly being denied access to the nomination form. His move deepened the crisis threatening to derail preparations for the PDP national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

But the party’s leadership dismissed Lamido’s threat of litigation, insisting it would not allow “disgruntled elements” to derail preparations for its convention.

In what had been reported as a response to the escalating tension, the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) announced the indefinite postponement of the screening exercise for aspirants, initially slated for Tuesday, October 28.

Lamido’s legal challenge added to the hurdles already confronting the opposition party.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had fixed today, October 30, to deliver judgement in a separate suit seeking to stop the convention.

The case was filed by some state party chairmen believed to be loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, a vocal critic of the planned convention.

Many believe the outcome of the current challenges would be a critical test of PDP’s unity and readiness for leadership transition.

A member of PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Bode George, warned Lamido not to take the party to court over the sale of nomination forms for the national chairmanship contest.

Speaking on “Politics Today”, a Channels Television programme, George said Lamido must first explore the party’s internal dispute resolution processes before seeking redress in court.

The PDP chieftain also said Lamido had every right to contest the party’s national chairmanship position.

George stated, “The fact that those leaders converged and supported one individual as a consensus candidate doesn’t mean others can’t contest.

“You want to make the process seamless. It’s an internal dynamic. We have done this before, but the party has never stopped anyone from contesting.

“My friend Sule Lamido has the right to compete. He can go and get the form, fill it, and follow the normal process to appear on the day of the convention. We will vote.

“But before you take the party to court, you must exhaust the internal dynamics of the party. If you fail to do that, you can be punished. So, he (Lamido) is exercising his rights, but if he goes to court for this, he can be punished.

“Let him go; nobody will deny him any form, and he can compete. The final decision will be by delegates attending the convention, and it will be done openly.”

Meanwhile, the dust had yet to settle over a forgery petition filed by the party’s embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, an ally of Wike.

Anyanwu alleged that his signature was forged on documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) notifying it of the convention.

Both PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) and BoT had dismissed the claims, insisting that Anyanwu willingly signed the correspondence.

Nonetheless, the outcome of the ongoing security investigation into the allegation could have significant implications for the fate of the convention and the party’s fragile internal cohesion.