A founding member of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, has said he feels profound sadness after taking the party he helped build to court.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday outside the Federal High Court in Abuja, Mr Lamido’s voice was heavy with emotion as he explained that a restraining order preventing the PDP from holding its planned national convention was a victory that brought him no joy.
“In this case, if my party lost, I also lose,” Mr Lamido lamented. “I feel like crying, taking this path. When we fight as brothers, the trust is lost, the bond of brotherhood is also lost.”
The court order, issued by Justice Peter Lifu, has halted the party’s national convention scheduled for 15 and 16 November in Ibadan. The judge also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from monitoring or recognising the event, agreeing with Mr Lamido’s argument that the party’s processes had been flawed.
The former governor, who served two terms from 2007 to 2015 and was also Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, said he was forced into legal action after being denied the opportunity to purchase a nomination form to contest for the party’s national chairman.
“I built this house with my sweat and soul,” he said, recalling his role as a member of the G-34 group that formed the PDP in 1998. His attempt to collect the form at the party secretariat on 27 October was unsuccessful, as the relevant officials were not available to assist him.
The court’s decision was based on the party’s failure to follow its own rules and the laws governing such conventions. Justice Lifu stated that the timetable for the convention was not properly published for members, as required. He concluded that the “balance of convenience” favoured Mr Lamido, who would suffer more if he were “unlawfully excluded.”
“In line with Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, courts must dispense justice without fear or favour,” the judge said, warning that “anarchy would prevail if courts abdicated their constitutionally assigned functions.”
The ruling restrains the PDP from proceeding with the convention “in Ibadan or elsewhere” until the substantive suit is determined. The case has been adjourned until 13 November for a judgment on the main issue.
The situation highlights the deep internal divisions within the PDP. Days before Mr Lamido’s attempt to get his form, some party leaders in the north had endorsed a different candidate, Kabiru Turaki, as a consensus candidate for the chairmanship role—a move Mr Lamido said he was unaware of.
There has been speculation that his exclusion was linked to his past support for opposition collaboration under the African Democratic Congress (ADC). However, Mr Lamido has consistently affirmed his loyalty to the PDP. “Yes, I support the coming together of the opposition under the ADC, but let it be known I will never leave the PDP,” he clarified a few months ago. “My role now is to offer guidance and ensure Nigeria finds her way back.”
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