“A Gathering of Friends”: Lamido Dismisses PDP Convention as Illegal Jamboree

“A Gathering of Friends”: Lamido Dismisses PDP Convention as Illegal Jamboree

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) plunged deeper into crisis over the weekend as it proceeded with a national convention in Ibadan that a founding member and former governor, Sule Lamido, has dismissed as an “illegal” gathering of “friends for entertainment,” held in defiance of a direct court order.

The convention, which went ahead on Saturday, saw the party take drastic action by expelling prominent figures including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and former Ekito State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.

However, the legitimacy of both the convention and its decisions is being fiercely contested.

Lamido, who had taken the party to court after being blocked from purchasing a nomination form for the national chairmanship, was unequivocal in his assessment.

“The gathering in Ibadan is not a convention which is legal… It is simply a gathering of friends for entertainment. It has no legal standing,” he stated during an interview on Sunday.

His position is backed by a ruling from Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who on Friday, just hours before the event, issued a final order halting the convention.

The judge had previously ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognize the gathering.

Despite these legal injunctions, the party leadership under Umar Damagum insisted on proceeding. During the contested convention, a former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, was elected as the new national chairman, a move that has sparked speculation about a potential political comeback for former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The fallout is already causing fresh divisions. The governors of Adamawa and Plateau States have publicly rejected the expulsions, signaling a party at war with itself.

When questioned on his decision to sue the party, Lamido, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, revealed his frustration with failed internal reconciliation efforts.

“In the last two years, I have held so many meetings… pleading that the party was going down,” he lamented, accusing current PDP governors and lawmakers of neglecting the party’s core purpose: to win elections.

The stage is now set for a protracted legal and political battle, with the PDP’s future hanging in the balance as it grapples with the consequences of a convention that a significant faction, and the judiciary, deem illegitimate.

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