PDP convention will go on, Bode George says as he clashes with Wike, Lamido

By Omeiza Ajayi

The deepening rift within the Peoples Democratic Party PDP turned for the worse on Friday night as former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido; PDP chieftain, Chief Bode George; and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, clashed bitterly over the legality and propriety of the party’s planned national convention.

Speaking during a heated appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Lamido, who recently secured a court judgment affecting the conduct of the convention, insisted that he is now “a creation of a court order” and cannot participate in what he repeatedly described as an illegal exercise.

He maintained that the injunction expressly halted the convention until he is included as a bona fide contestant for national chairman.

In an emotional reflection on his legal battle, the former governor said the case was not driven by ambition, but by the need to reclaim his “dignity, honour, and rights” within a party he had served faithfully for decades.

“I won the case, but it is tormenting that I had to take my own party to court,” he said, adding that the ruling both vindicated him and exposed “the erosion of trust, love and accommodation” that once defined the PDP.

Lamido dismissed widespread rumours that he had withdrawn his case or reached a truce with governors, declaring: “The governors today behave like emperors. The PDP was never structured for governors to run down other members or overthrow the foundation of the party.”

But Lamido’s remarks immediately drew sharp rebuttals from Chief Bode George, who expressed astonishment that the former governor went to court at all.

“I am shell-shocked that Lamido took the party to court,” George said, arguing that the process had followed the party’s internal procedures.

“The last NEC meeting, the dates for collection of forms and submission were unveiled and approved by NEC. That is the procedure. Lamido got it all wrong. For about a month, everybody who wanted to contest got the forms, but Lamido came in on the very last day for the return of forms”, he said.

The party elder insisted that the convention would proceed despite Lamido’s objections, citing what he said was judicial backing for the PDP to continue preparations. “I just heard about the judgment he got, but the Supreme Court is clear on the internal affairs of the party. The PDP Convention will go on. The order to continue our operations has been extended by the court till next Monday,” George declared.

His claims were immediately challenged by Wike, who questioned whether George had even read the judgment being relied upon.

“Did Chief Bode George read Justice Omotoso’s judgment? This is what I have always complained about — impunity. Ask Chief George, have we won anything in his Lagos since 1999? It is only in my state where you have members of the national and State Assembly who are PDP.”

Wike said there was no legal basis for insisting the convention must continue. “There is no court judgment ordering that the convention should go on,” he stated pointedly.

He reminded viewers that the last NEC meeting had directed the party to conduct specific congresses, not rush into a convention mired in legal disputes. “NEC meeting said do congresses of Anambra and others. It is not about you feeling emotional,” he added, in a veiled swipe at Chief George’s remarks.

Lamido, for his part, stayed firm that attending the convention under the current circumstances would amount to renouncing the judgment in his favour.

He said the party’s internal collapse — evidenced by the loss of 11 governors in recent years — was tied to entrenched power struggles. Yet he remained confident in his ability to help rebuild the PDP, saying: “I can go to Obasanjo, Jonathan, Atiku and others and tell them to come back.

This party made them. I believe the PDP can save Nigeria again if we restore its old values.”

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