Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention held in Ibadan on Saturday as an illegal gathering that violates a subsisting court order, warning that those behind it risk being cited for contempt.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Saturday, Lamido said the convention could not be recognised under the law because a valid injunction ? which he obtained on Friday afternoon ? had been duly served on both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP.

?I gather that the convention is something defined under law ? our law, our regulations and our general constitution. And since there has been a court order restricting the convention from holding, there cannot be a convention. So if you say it is a convention, you can be sued for contempt of court,?he said.

Lamido argued that no interpretation of other court rulings could supersede the latest order, insisting that the PDP could not claim legal cover to proceed.

?Interests are very free to interpret the law based on their own interest. But the injunction from Ibadan is not the one in question. Mine was given on Friday at three o?clock, which is the latest. The order has been served on INEC; it has also been served on the PDP. They are aware of this. Therefore, if you say they are holding a convention, you can be held for contempt of the general purpose,?he added.

Reacting to comments by Chief Bode George, who accused him of misunderstanding the party?s nomination procedures, Lamido dismissed George?s criticism.

?I watched him. I felt highly entertained by his presentation. He?s a military man. He has no idea how the PDP was formed in 1998, the philosophy behind the PDP, the thinking of the PDP and the dream of the PDP. He has no idea how we formed the party; he was only brought on board by Obasanjo,?he said.

Lamido added that George had yet to fully transition from a military mindset.

?He has not gone through the full metamorphosis of moving from a military man to a civilian. Therefore, he is still a ?paracivilian?. You can understand his mentality,? he stated.

He accused George of leading the group currently suspended from the party.

?That group which has been suspended was led by Bode George. He was their political leader. He was the elder who got them into rebellion against the party,? Lamido asserted.

Lamido insisted the exercise in Ibadan lacked legitimacy and could not be recognised as a convention.

?PDP is a party of law and order. The gathering in Ibadan is not a convention which is legal. Therefore, anything done there is just unavoidable ? whatever they may be called. They are only there to entertain themselves. The meeting in Ibadan is simply a gathering of friends for entertainment. It has no legal standing,?he said.

Responding to questions about why he went to court instead of pursuing internal reconciliation, the former governor said he had spent years trying to prevent the crisis.

?In the last two years, I have held so many meetings ? in people?s houses, in offices ? pleading that the party was going down. Today, we have so many governors, parliamentarians and leaders who don?t even care. What is the purpose of having a party if not to win elections??he asked.

He warned that the PDP had weakened itself to the point of losing public confidence.

?People are not confident about Nigeria because they don?t believe the PDP is even capable of resolving its own problems. If you cannot organise yourselves, how do you go out and fight the APC?? Lamido said.

He added that the solution lay in forgiveness and sacrifice.

?We should be more forgiving. We should be more tolerant. We should make sacrifices for the sake of the PDP and for those coming in the future,?he said. (AriseNews TV)

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