Former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, has accused governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of stopping him from contesting for the party’s national chairmanship.
Lamido, speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, alleged that the governors denied him access to nomination forms despite a court order mandating the party to allow him into the race.
According to him, the PDP Governors’ Forum chairman and Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, personally asked him to step down.
He said, “Bala, the governor of Bauchi, called and said, ‘My elder brother, you are stronger than us. If we make you chairman, we can’t influence you.’”
Lamido said he rejected the request, reminding the governor that the PDP was built on collective ideals, not personal control.
“I told him, ‘When PDP was formed, you were not there. The party with history should not be controlled by one person,’” he added.
The former governor explained that even after obtaining a court judgment directing the PDP to allow him to contest, the governors refused to comply. Instead, he said, the party filed an appeal to block his participation.
Lamido accused the governors of hijacking the process, insisting that what transpired was against the party’s constitution and democratic values.
He also dismissed the outcome of the party’s recent national convention, where Tanimu Turaki emerged as national chairman.
“That convention is null and void,” he declared, insisting the process lacked legitimacy.
Lamido urged senior stakeholders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to intervene and help restructure the party.
He argued that the PDP must return to its founding principles to play its role effectively in Nigeria’s democracy.
The former Governor warned that the party risks further decline if internal democracy continues to be undermined.
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