Just weeks before its national convention, new divisions have surfaced within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, rejected the endorsement of Tanimu Turaki (SAN) as the consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman.
The disagreement has once again thrown the opposition party into internal tension, setting the stage for possible legal confrontation, even as Turaki’s camp continues with its campaign activities.
This development coincided with the suspension of the screening of aspirants for the PDP’s 2025 Elective National Convention, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday (today), due to what the party described as unforeseen circumstances.
The decision, coming less than a month before the highly anticipated convention, has generated concern within the PDP and among political analysts about internal party issues and the potential impact on its organisational readiness.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, confirmed the postponement, adding that a new date would soon be announced.
“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 to aspirants and party members for patience while efforts continue to resolve the underlying issues that caused 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 party members that the committee remained determined to deliver a transparent and credible 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 said.
The 2025 PDP Elective National Convention, scheduled to take place in Ibadan, is expected to attract leading figures of the party, governors, and stakeholders nationwide as the opposition party works to restructure its national leadership ahead of the 2027 general elections.
On Monday, Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State and PDP stalwart, threatened legal action against the party if he was not allowed to purchase the nomination form ahead of the convention set for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja after being unable to obtain the nomination form for the National Chairman position, Lamido disclosed that both the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the National Organising Secretary, Umaru Bature, had no involvement in the matter.
In separate comments, Anyanwu and Bature confirmed that they had not seen any nomination forms since preparations for the convention began.
Meanwhile, the northern consensus candidate for PDP National Chairman, Turaki, a former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, formally submitted his nomination form, pledging to promote fairness, discipline, and stability in the party if elected.
At its 102nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on August 25 in Abuja, the PDP resolved to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South and allocate the position of National Chairman to the North.
Following that decision, northern leaders met during the weekend and further micro-zoned the chairmanship to the North-West.
Subsequently, northern PDP governors, led by Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, alongside other party leaders, endorsed Turaki as the consensus candidate for National Chairman from the North.
However, some northern stakeholders, reportedly aligned with Lamido and led by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, expressed displeasure, claiming they were excluded from the consultation process preceding Turaki’s endorsement.
In a related development, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is said to be backing his ally and former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, for the same position.
Lamido, who arrived at the PDP Secretariat with his supporters around 11 a.m., said he was shocked to find most offices locked and no officials available to attend to him.
Although the National Convention Organising Committee, chaired by Fintiri, currently operates from the PDP’s annexe office at Legacy House, Maitama, Lamido insisted that the forms should have been available at the party’s headquarters as stipulated by its constitution.
He stated, “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 maintained that he was unaware of any public announcement to the contrary, describing the issue as an internal party matter, not a crisis.
He explained that he visited Wadata Plaza out of tradition but might now have to travel to Adamawa, where Governor Fintiri’s committee is based, to obtain the form.
He continued, “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 said his ultimate aim was to rebuild the PDP into a cohesive and stable organisation focused on rescuing Nigeria from the APC.
He rejected the governors’ consensus arrangement, arguing that it was made without proper consultation.
Lamido explained, “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 Lamido at the PDP National Secretariat, the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, denied knowledge of the nomination forms’ whereabouts and vowed that the alleged forgery of his signature would be thoroughly investigated.
He said, “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.”
Discussing his plans for the convention, Anyanwu confirmed his intention to contest but lamented that neither he nor other key officials had sighted 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.”
Supporting his colleague’s account, the National Organising Secretary, Bature, confirmed, “I have not seen the forms since the process started, even as the Organising Secretary of the party. I learned that Governor Fintiri’s committee is in charge.”
However, in a separate development, PDP chieftain and Turaki’s ally, Umar Sani, displayed an acknowledgement slip to journalists, confirming the submission of Turaki’s nomination form for the National Chairman position at the National Convention Organising Committee’s office at Legacy House, Abuja.
This came only hours after Lamido alleged he had been denied access to purchase the same form.
Sani, a prominent North-West party leader and member of Turaki’s camp, dismissed claims that Turaki’s endorsement lacked consultation, maintaining that all stakeholders were duly involved.
He said, “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 added that Turaki had no fear of competition, stressing that every aspirant had a right to contest.
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.”
