Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention held in Ibadan, describing the event as nothing more than “a gathering of friends” with no legal standing.
Speaking on ARISE News, Lamido insisted that the convention was invalid, arguing that a court injunction he secured on Friday afternoon barred the party from holding the event.
He said the injunction had been duly served on both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP before the gathering took place.
According to him, “A convention is a process recognised under the law. Once a court order restrains it, it cannot hold. If anyone still calls that meeting a convention, they can be sued for contempt.”
Lamido stressed that no previous court ruling could override the most recent injunction, claiming that the PDP acted outside the law by proceeding.
He added that interest groups within the party were merely interpreting court orders to suit their agenda.
The former governor also dismissed remarks by PDP chieftain Chief Bode George, who had accused him of misconstruing the party’s nomination protocols.
Lamido said George lacked understanding of how the PDP was built, insisting that he was brought into the party by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and never fully transitioned from a military mindset.
“He has not completed the metamorphosis from military to civilian politics,” Lamido said, describing George as a “paracivilian”.
He further accused George of heading the faction recently suspended from the party.
“That suspended group was led by Bode George. He was their political leader. He is the elder who pushed them into rebellion,” he alleged.
Lamido maintained that the Ibadan gathering was illegitimate and should not be recognised as a national convention.
“The PDP is a party founded on law and order. The meeting in Ibadan has no legal authority. It was simply a social gathering—people entertaining themselves.”
Explaining why he went to court rather than pursuing internal dialogue, Lamido said he had spent the past two years trying to mediate the party’s internal disputes without success.
“I have held countless meetings in homes and offices, begging that the party was heading downhill,” he lamented.
According to him, many governors and party leaders have become indifferent to the party’s decline, leading to dwindling public trust.
“If we cannot organise ourselves, how do we hope to confront the APC?” he asked, warning that the PDP’s credibility is rapidly eroding.
