FORMER Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors blocked his bid to become the party’s national chairman, citing concerns over his independence.
Lamido, in an interview with the Hausa Service of the BBCyesterday, claimed that Bauchi State governor andchairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Bala Mohammed, had called and asked him to abandon his candidacy because they could not influence him if he became chairman.

The veteran politician recounted telling Mohammed that the PDP is a party with a history that should not be controlled by one person, adding that he was denied a nomination form and had to go to court.

His claim: “Bala, the governor of Bauchi, called and said, ‘My elder brother, you are stronger than us. If we make you chairman, we can’t influence you.’ But I told him, ‘When PDP was formed, you were not there; you didn’t know the party. You are a new man in it. The party with history should not be possessed by one person.’ That’s what I told him.”
According to him, despite a court order, the governors defied the ruling and appealed against his suit.

He disowned the new leadership that produced Tanimu Turaki as chairman, labelling the convention “null and void.”

Lamido called on stakeholders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to intervene and reorganise the party to redefinethe nation’s democracy and development.