You’ll be punished if you drag PDP to court – Bode George tells Lamido

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Chief Bode George, has warned former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, that he risks party sanctions if he proceeds with his threat to take the PDP to court over the sale of nomination forms for the position of National Chairman.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday night, George said Lamido must first exhaust all internal mechanisms of the party before seeking legal redress, stressing that failure to do so would amount to indiscipline.

“The fact that those leaders converged and supported one individual as consensus candidate doesn’t mean other candidates will not compete,” George said. “You know you want to make the process seamless. It’s an internal dynamic. We have done this in the past, but the party has never told anyone not to contest.”

He added, “Sule Lamido has the right to compete. He can go and get the form, fill it, and follow the normal process to appear on the day of the convention. We will vote. But before you take the party to court, you must exhaust the internal dynamics of the party. If you fail to do that, you can be punished.”

George maintained that the PDP constitution provides for internal conflict resolution mechanisms that all members must respect to avoid chaos within the party.

His comments come amid mounting tension in the PDP as Lamido continues to accuse top officials of blocking his attempt to purchase nomination forms for the chairmanship race.

Lamido, who arrived at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja on Monday morning with his supporters, said the relevant offices were “locked” and key officers unavailable to attend to him.

The controversy follows the party’s recent zoning arrangement, which allocated the National Chairmanship position to the North-West, where a section of northern leaders has already endorsed former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as consensus candidate — a decision Lamido has publicly rejected.

The PDP’s elective national convention is scheduled to hold from November 15 to 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.