A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, and the immediate past National Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Bature, have appealed to the former National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Illya Damagum, and the former National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, to save the PDP before their tenure expires on December 8.
Speaking separately to THISDAY, they said only Damagum and Anyanwu could save the PDP before December 8, as only their signatures are acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the expiration of the Damagum-led executive.
But in a quick response, the newly elected National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the concerns of both Lamido and Bature were belated because the ship of the party has left the harbour as they are now in the Court of Appeal.
He said the views of Lamido and Bature are indeed late because, as elders of the party, they were part and parcel of the crisis, as they took the party to court without using the PDP internal mechanism to address it at the budding stage.
Lamido told THISDAY that only Damagum and Anyanwu could save the PDP from its predicament because only their signatures are still recognised before the Election Management Board.
According to him, ”as far as the constitution of the PDP is concerned, Damagum and Anyanwu’s tenure are subsisting till December 8 this year. The NWC, led by Damagum, was elected four years ago, and, under the circumstances, only two of them can write to INEC to call for a national executive committee (NEC) meeting to usher in an interim national executive committee; otherwise, the party is in deep trouble.
”Do we have to wait for the Court of Appeal and probably the Supreme Court to decide this leadership crisis? Elections are fast approaching. Do you know how this crisis could be resolved?” he queried.
The immediate past National Organising Secretary, Bature, echoed the same position, saying, “First and foremost, I am still the National Organising Secretary. Our tenure will end by December 8, 2025. We were sworn in exactly on that day, four years ago.
So, my appeal is that the two signatories still recognised by INEC should act to save the party. This is because, after December 8, INEC will no longer listen to anyone. If we say that we are waiting for the courts, how soon would that be coming?”
But the PDP’s newly elected National Publicity Secretary also told THISDAY that Lamido’s and Bature’s concerns are coming relatively late, as the ship has already left the harbour.
As party elders, they were the ones who took the party to court. They could have used their positions as elders to resolve this perceived crisis.
In any case, the PDP is before the Court of Appeal; we are awaiting the appeal court’s judgment. We have also appealed for an accelerated hearing on this matter,” the new spokesman of the PDP said.
He explained that the November 15 and 16 national convention is valid under the law, as the Oyo State High Court was the last to validate it.
Meanwhile, Umar Sani, a former spokesman to the former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, and an ally of the current National Chairman of the PDP, Kabiru Turaki, has appealed to Lamido to support efforts to stabilise the party.
This appeal followed Lamido’s criticism of the party’s handling of its leadership crisis in a recent BBC Hausa Service interview, where he also referenced a court case he instituted.
Sani, a close associate of Turaki, addressed Lamido’s claims, stating that they were inaccurate and required clarification.
He clarified that no court barred the PDP from holding its national convention; instead, a court ordered the party to allow Lamido to participate in the contest after proper verification, an order which the PDP has appealed to the Supreme Court.
He also noted that a court in Ibadan granted the party permission to hold its convention, which led to the election of new national officers.
Sani appealed to Lamido to prioritise party unity over personal grievances, emphasising his status as a founding figure in the PDP.
He urged Lamido to collaborate with Turaki, highlighting their long-standing cordial relationship and ability to guide the party away from internal conflict.
Chuks Okocha
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