By Passman Akpos
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was thrown into fresh confusion yesterday after abruptly suspending the screening of aspirants for its 2025 Elective National Convention, which had been scheduled to commence today (Tuesday), citing “unforeseen circumstances.”
The development has deepened internal tensions within the opposition party, coming amid fresh outrage from former Jigawa State governor and ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Sule Lamido, who accused party leaders of deliberately blocking his access to nomination forms for the position of National Chairman. Lamido has vowed to seek legal redress if the situation is not resolved.
The crisis was further compounded by threats from over 20 PDP federal lawmakers to defect from the party over an alleged plot to clear a nominee of an All Progressives Congress (APC) governor for the strategic position of National Woman Leader.
Screening Suspension Deepens Anxiety Ahead of Convention
In a statement issued late Monday night by Ahmadu Fintiri, Governor of Adamawa State and Chairman of the PDP National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC), the party announced the indefinite suspension of the screening exercise earlier slated for Tuesday, October 28, 2025.
Fintiri’s statement read in part:
> “The National Convention Organising Committee, NCOC, of our great Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has put on hold the screening of aspirants for the 2025 Elective National Convention, earlier scheduled for Tuesday (today), October 28, 2025, due to unforeseen circumstances.”
The committee, however, assured members that a new date for the screening would be communicated soon, expressing regret over any inconvenience caused.
Fintiri maintained that despite the setback, the committee remains committed to “a credible, transparent and hitch-free convention,” scheduled to hold from November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Lamido Cries Foul: “They’ve Hijacked the Process”
Earlier on Monday, former governor Sule Lamido stormed the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, where he said he met locked offices and uncooperative staff who claimed ignorance of the availability of nomination forms for the National Chairmanship position.
Speaking to journalists, Lamido described the development as “strange” and “a deliberate attempt to muzzle my right to contest.”
> “I went to the office of the National Organising Secretary, where forms are usually sold, but the office was locked. I was told they had no idea about the forms or where they were printed,” Lamido lamented.
He alleged that the National Convention Organising Committee, headed by Governor Fintiri, had taken over the sale of forms from the party’s headquarters in Abuja to Adamawa State.
> “So, I have to go to Adamawa to buy the form now,” he said angrily.
Lamido insisted that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP had the authority to close or extend the sale of nomination forms, warning that any unilateral action would be unconstitutional.
> “If I don’t get the form, I’ll go to court. Simple,” he declared.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has been a founding member of the PDP since 1998, dismissed allegations linking him to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that he remained “100% PDP.”
He also criticized the secrecy surrounding preparations
