•Sule Lamido and Tanimu Turaki
Barely weeks to its national convention, fresh cracks have emerged in the Peoples Democratic Party as former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, rejected the endorsement of Tanimu Turaki (SAN) as the party’s consensus candidate for National Chairman.
The disagreement has again thrown the opposition party into fresh tension and set the stage for a courtroom battle, even as Turaki’s camp pushes ahead with its campaign, reports The PUNCH.
This comes as the party suspended the screening of aspirants for its 2025 Elective National Convention, earlier scheduled for Tuesday (today), citing unforeseen circumstances.
The decision — coming less than a month before the much-anticipated convention — has raised concerns within the party and among political observers about possible internal challenges and the implications for the opposition’s preparations.
In a statement yesterday, Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, announced the postponement, saying a new date would be communicated soon.
“The National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has put on hold the screening of aspirants for the 2025 Elective National Convention, earlier scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, 2025, due to unforeseen circumstances,” the statement read.
The committee expressed regret over the delay and appealed for understanding among aspirants and members while efforts continue to address the issues that prompted the postponement.
“A new date will be communicated once fixed. The NCOC regrets any inconvenience caused by the postponement. All aspirants and members of our party should note the foregoing and be guided accordingly,” it added.
Fintiri assured that the committee remains committed to ensuring a transparent and credible process leading to the convention.
“The NCOC remains focused on delivering a credible, hitch-free 2025 Elective National Convention on Saturday, 15th to Sunday, 16th November, 2025, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital,” he stated.
The PDP’s 2025 Elective National Convention — billed to hold in Ibadan — is expected to draw top party leaders, governors, and stakeholders from across the country as the opposition party seeks to reorganise its national leadership ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Yesterday, former Jigawa State Governor and PDP chieftain Lamido threatened to take legal action against the party if he was not granted access to purchase nomination forms ahead of the forthcoming national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Lamido, while speaking with journalists in Abuja after his attempt to obtain the PDP National Chairman nomination form proved unsuccessful, disclosed that both the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the National Organising Secretary, Umaru Bature, were not involved in the matter.
In their brief remarks, Anyanwu and Bature disclosed that as party officials, they have not come across any nomination forms since the commencement of preparations for the upcoming convention.
However, North’s consensus candidate for the PDP National Chairman and former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Turaki, formally submitted his nomination form, pledging to entrench fairness, discipline, and stability within the party if elected at the forthcoming national convention.
During its 102nd National Executive Committee meeting held on August 25 in Abuja, the PDP agreed to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South while allocating the position of National Chairman to the North.
Following this decision, northern leaders met over the weekend and further micro-zoned the chairmanship position to the North-West.
Subsequently, northern PDP governors, led by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, along with other party leaders, endorsed Turaki as the consensus candidate for National Chairman from the North.
However, some northern stakeholders reportedly loyal to Lamido and led by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that they were not consulted before the endorsement.
In a separate development, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is reportedly supporting his ally and former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, for the same position.
Lamido, who arrived at the secretariat with his supporters shortly after 11 am, said he was surprised to find most offices locked, with no officials available to attend to him.
Although the National Convention Organising Committee, chaired by Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, is currently operating from the PDP’s annexe office at Legacy House, Maitama, Lamido insisted that the forms should have been made available at the party headquarters as required by its constitution.
He said, “Well, let me be very clear. You see, the PDP is a family of wonderful Nigerians who share a similar commitment to Nigeria and democracy. So, coming here is like coming home to the family. There’s nothing new about it.
“Secondly, because we are now going into a convention, and by the party constitution, the sale of forms is normally at the party headquarters, I came here to purchase my own form.
“Well, I went to the office of the National Organising Secretary, which is normally the office where the forms are sold, and the office was locked. I think it was officially locked, you know, because of his own position. So, I met him with the Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m here to buy the form.’ Both of them said they had no idea where the forms were — not even how they were printed or the kind of forms they were. They had no idea where they were being sold. So, I found it a little bit weird that the custodian of the system, who is the National Organising Secretary, was also being locked out. So, they may not be able to go into the office.”
Lamido said he was unaware of any such announcement, describing the matter as a family affair without controversy or division.
He explained that he went to Wadata Plaza based on tradition, but since the process is now handled by the Convention Committee led by Governor Fintiri, he may have to go to Adamawa to get the form.
He added, “No, the closing date for the sale of forms has been extended. In any case, all decisions of the party must be made by the NEC. You know, any change of date or time must be approved by the NEC. But somehow, I think the entire function of the NEC has been taken over by individuals. Therefore, we’ll find out how it’s going to work out.
“I am an optimist. You know, it’s a family thing. We’ll never fight, no matter what, because we want to win the election. If we fight, we’ll lose. You know, our opponents are outside, the APC and their evil system. APC, not PDP. So, if you don’t have an organised house with a very, very organised force, how do you fight it out?
“That is why I am trying to buy the form. And if I don’t get the form, I will go to court simply. The PDP should be able to organise its own house, to run the party based on its policies, doing the right thing at all times. The only way we can win is by having a party that is disciplined. If the party is not organised, if we don’t follow our own constitution and procedures, how do we win elections?”
Lamido stated his primary goal is to see the PDP rebuilt into a stable and united family capable of staying focused on the larger mission of rescuing Nigeria and Nigerians from the APC.
The PDP chieftain rejected the governors’ consensus arrangement, stating that it was reached without any form of consultation.
Lamido stated, “If there are consultations, there can be consensus. But if there are no consultations, then we are not united on board. I mean, the zone which I come from has never met.
“We were supposed to meet on Wednesday, and I think the Governor of Zamfara booked the hall at the Hilton for us from the North West to meet, to be able to come out with that kind of understanding. But then, to pre-empt our meeting, they fixed a meeting for Tuesday. So, we never met. The zone never met. That’s the problem.”
Earlier, while receiving former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido at the PDP National Secretariat, the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the nomination forms and vowed to ensure that the alleged forgery of his signature was thoroughly investigated.
He stated, “On the issue of forgery, I have established that it is under investigation, and so I don’t want to comment on that. I don’t want to go into that because the issue of forgery is not something that can be swept under the carpet. But I can tell you, I will get to the end of it.”
Speaking on preparations for the convention, Anyanwu confirmed his intention to contest for election but lamented that neither he nor other top officials had seen the nomination forms.
“On the convention, I have the intention to run for the election, but we don’t know where the forms are. We have agreed on the zoning arrangement that the positions in the South should remain in the South and those in the North should remain in the North. So, there is no issue regarding micro-zoning that they are talking about.
“Usually, how it is done in a political party, when I wanted to contest as Secretary, I printed posters and went from state to state to canvass for votes. So, when you buy a form, you move to the states and canvass for delegates to vote for you. I have never seen this kind of arrangement before, where even the National Secretary of the party has not seen the colour of the form — whether it is white, red, or black.”
In his brief remarks, the National Organising Secretary, Bature, corroborated Anyanwu’s account, saying he too had not seen the forms since the process began.
“I have not seen the forms since the process started, even as the Organising Secretary of the party,” Bature said. “I learned that Governor Fintiri’s committee is in charge.”
However, in a separate development, a PDP chieftain and ally of Turaki, Umar Sani, presented to journalists an acknowledgement slip confirming the submission of Turaki’s nomination forms for the position of National Chairman at the National Convention Organising Committee Headquarters, Legacy House, Abuja.
The development came just hours after Lamido claimed he was denied access to purchase the forms.
Sani, a North-West party leader and key member of Turaki’s camp, dismissed claims that Turaki’s emergence as the North’s consensus candidate lacked consultation, insisting that all stakeholders were duly carried along.
He stated, “Today, being the 27th of October, 2025 — the final day for the submission of nomination forms — Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has fulfilled all righteousness and has duly submitted the nomination forms and all other required documents. These forms have been duly acknowledged, a copy of which is here for you to see. So what we are awaiting now is for the party to invite Kabiru Tanimu Turaki for screening.
“First, let me say this: today is not a day for selling forms. Today is a day for the submission of forms. So if Sule Lamido went to Wadata Plaza looking for forms, he went to the wrong place, because the party has stipulated which day you are supposed to go and buy forms and which day you are supposed to submit them. So, we have just submitted ours.
“Also, there is a controversy between the decision of the governors and some stakeholders who endorsed Turaki as the consensus candidate and some other members from the same region who said they were never consulted and therefore do not agree with Turaki’s endorsement.
“Consultations have been done because there was a meeting. It was not something that was announced. A meeting was held with all the relevant stakeholders in all the states in the North, adequately represented. The Governor of Zamfara State was there, and the Governor of Adamawa State, Fintiri, was there. I’m sure most of you know the meeting, so I don’t have to spoon-feed you with the information. And in that meeting, even the Governor of Taraba, who was not there, was represented by a Senator. So they were all there, and the candidates were all there.”
Sani stated that the former minister had no fear of any contender, stressing that other aspirants who obtained nomination forms were equally entitled to exercise their rights within the party.
He said, “Well, let me start by telling you that Kabiru Tanimu Turaki is not afraid of anybody. He has not changed from the PDP. He knows the internal workings of the PDP. So, for anybody to believe that he is afraid of anybody, he is not afraid of anybody.
“He has been in this party for a very long time. He has never aspired to become a House of Representatives member, a Senator, or a Governor — only that he once aspired to become President. And even during that presidential bid, when he was defeated at the primaries in Port Harcourt, he still served as the Director of Administration and Finance of the Presidential Campaign Council. So, he is very much aware that he has a responsibility.
“He has always been in the party and has always made meaningful contributions where needed — legally, financially, and otherwise. Now, if he is entrusted with the responsibility of leading the party, he will put the PDP on a sound footing because he is neutral.
“This is what the governors are talking about. He is neither with Wike nor the Governors’ Forum. Turaki SAN will be fair to all; he will stabilise the party and ensure discipline. He is an independent-minded person, and we believe he will bring his wealth of experience, gathered over the years as both a legal practitioner and a former Minister of Special Duties — a position that demands versatility and balance in handling diverse responsibilities.”
