Chuks Okocha and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has joined the race for the office of National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and he is expected to pick his nomination form today.

Lamido told THISDAY that he would pick the national chairmanship nomination form Monday at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja.

By implication, the consensus nomination of former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, might have failed.

It was also expected that former governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, would pick his nomination form within the week

It was learnt at the weekend that PDP chapters in the North-west had rejected the nomination of Turaki.

Kebbi State chapter of PDP, for instance, rejected the endorsement of Turaki as the northern consensus candidate.

The PDP national organising secretary, Umar Bature, told news men last week that the nomination of Turaki was an imposition without any consultation.

The rejection followed an emergency meeting of the state chapter held on Saturday in Birnin Kebbi.

In a statement issued after the meeting, State Publicity Secretary, Sani Dododo, said the decision by northern PDP governors to adopt Turaki was taken without consulting the Kebbi State chapter.

The statement said, “Kabiru Tanimu has never reached out to the Kebbi State chapter regarding his ambition. He has also not participated in any recent party activities within the state.

“Accordingly, the Kebbi State chapter outrightly rejects the purported adoption of the former minister as the consensus candidate.”

The northern PDP leaders had earlier endorsed Turaki as the consensus candidate for the forthcoming national elective convention scheduled to hold on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan.

The endorsement was reached at a meeting in Abuja attended by PDP governors, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, and other northern stakeholders.

Meanwhile, PDP lawmakers from the South-east in the National Assembly threatened to boycott the party’s national convention if the position of woman leader, originally zoned to Imo State, was hijacked by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for South-south.

Checks revealed that the position was initially zoned to the South-east, with Imo State favoured candidate and current South-east zonal woman leader, Mrs. Arodiogbu Ifeyinwa, billed to clinch it, before Governor Peter Mba of Enugu State nominated an Enugu woman, who recently followed him to All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby giving Imo PDP the chance to clinch the position.

A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Imo Ugochinyere, in a statement, said they would issue a disclaimer against the convention in two weeks and would not participate if South-east was humiliated by those who wanted to rubbish an entire region.

He stressed that there was still time to remedy the situation before the screening on Tuesday next week, saying no elected lawmaker from South-east would remain in PDP if the impending insult was allowed to happen.

Ugochinyere added, “The current South-east zonal woman leader, Ifeyinwa Arodiogbu was unanimously backed by South-east PDP chieftains to clinch the position before  Governor Mbah, who is now in the ruling All Progressives Congress APC) allegedly influenced the zoning to Enugu and took the woman leader for Enugu after supporting Gov. Makinde to take the National Secretary that belonged to South-east and Imo state to South-west.

“We don’t want to see PDP suffer more setbacks. Still, we will stick to our position on the Ibadan convention if, in the next few weeks, the position of National woman leader is not ceded expressly to Imo State and an Imo person allowed to emerge.

“Now that Governor Mbah has left for APC, that earlier arrangement of producing a woman leader is not going to stand because Gov. Mbah’s woman leader nominee is also in APC with him.”

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