The national leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, have urged former Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, to calm down and support efforts to stabilise the party.
This appeal came after Lamido’s recent interview with BBC Hausa, where he criticised how the party is managing its leadership crisis and talked about the court case he filed over the issue.
Umar Sani, a close ally of the PDP National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), said many of Lamido’s statements in the interview were not correct and needed to be explained.
Sani said that, unlike Lamido claimed, no court stopped the PDP from holding its national convention. He explained that the court only said the party must allow Lamido to contest after proper screening—an order the PDP has already appealed at the Supreme Court.
He also revealed that another court in Ibadan actually gave the PDP permission to hold the convention. The convention produced new party officials, which means the PDP does have legitimate leaders, despite Lamido’s claim that it doesn’t.
Sani appealed to Lamido to show maturity and put the party’s unity above personal complaints.
“Sule Lamido is one of the founding members of the PDP. Right now, the party needs unity, not more court cases,” Sani said.
“If we keep fighting in court, we won’t make progress.”
The PDP leadership also urged Lamido to work with Chairman Turaki, saying the two men have had a good relationship in the past and can help guide the party away from further internal conflict.
This appeal comes at a time when the PDP is facing internal problems and public criticism over how it has handled recent elections and leadership issues.
