PDP Governors Blocking my Party Chairmanship Aspirations – Lamido

Former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has accused Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors of blocking his bid for the party’s national chairmanship.

In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Lamido alleged that the governors refused to provide him with a nomination form and ignored a court order directing the party to allow him to contest. He claimed that the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed personally called him, urging him to step down because the governors feared he would act too independently if elected.

Lamido recounted, “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.’ I reminded him of the party’s long history and said, ‘When PDP was formed, you were not there. The party with history should not be controlled by one person.’”

Despite securing a court order allowing him to contest, Lamido said the governors refused to comply and instead filed an appeal. He also rejected the leadership that emerged from the recent PDP convention, where Tanimu Turaki was named national chairman, describing the process as “null and void.”

Lamido called on senior party stakeholders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to intervene and help reorganize the PDP. He emphasized the need for the party to return to its founding principles to strengthen democracy and development in Nigeria.