Sule Lamido Boycotts PDP Meetings, Demands Expulsion of Wike and Ortom Over Alleged Anti-Party Activities
Sule Lamido, a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has made good on his earlier decision to boycott party meetings unless the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and former Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, are expelled from the party.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs was notably absent from the 99th NEC meeting held on Tuesday at the PDP National Secretariat, Legacy House, Abuja. His absence was a clear protest against what he perceives as the party’s tolerance of anti-party elements.
Lamido also expressed strong disapproval of the continued accommodation of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled National Secretary of the party, who reportedly has been rejected by the PDP’s Zonal Executive Committee.
While Wike and Anyanwu were absent from the NEC meeting, Samuel Ortom, who recently joined the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), attended alongside other party leaders. Ortom, dressed in his traditional Tiv cap and white kaftan, arrived at Legacy House accompanied by the PDP Governors Forum Chairman, Bala Muhammad.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja, Lamido insisted that both Wike and Ortom should be expelled for engaging in activities that undermine the party and working against its interests, particularly during the 2023 general elections. The former Jigawa Governor criticized Wike sharply, accusing him of betraying the party that elevated him politically.
“Here is someone who was honoured by the PDP, brought into relevance by the PDP, and now turns around to fight the very party that made him,” Lamido said. “Wike is, quite frankly, a disaster. What he has done is un-African and un-Nigerian. I don’t understand how someone, simply because of his own ambition, can take things so personally and act so destructively.”
He lamented the erosion of party culture and collective spirit within the PDP, which once prioritized the greater good. Lamido described Wike’s action of sealing the PDP secretariat as akin to destroying one’s own home, despite the minister’s claim that he was financing the party.
“Is it wrong for a son to take care of his own mother? Does it now mean the mother must submit to the son and take orders from him simply because he’s providing her clothing? Wike is thinking in a very warped way. He lacks the values and traditions that define our political culture,” Lamido said.
He also praised President Bola Tinubu for intervening and ordering the reopening of the party secretariat, noting the irony that Wike was undermining his own political family while attempting to please the President.
Beyond Wike, Lamido expressed concern over the continued inclusion of Samuel Ortom in the PDP BoT, pointing to Ortom’s public endorsement of the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over the PDP candidate as a grave betrayal.
“Look at the Board of Trustees. People like Ortom, who declared support for Peter Obi in 2023, are still members. That’s why I’ve said I will not attend any PDP meeting unless Wike is expelled and people like Ortom are removed from the BoT,” Lamido declared. “I remain a PDP member, but I will not participate in party functions or respond to calls for meetings while these individuals remain in leadership.”
He questioned how he could meaningfully work with individuals he considers impostors or rejected leaders, emphasizing the damage such figures cause to the party’s integrity.
Reflecting on his political experience, Lamido recalled his tenure as National Secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party during the IBB era (Option A4), where he led the expulsion of the late Arthur Nzeribe for similar anti-party behavior. He lamented the current lack of discipline within the PDP.
“During our time, the party was supreme. It held full authority, and everyone respected it, whether in the North, South, East, or West. Anyone — no matter how influential — who crossed the party line would be sanctioned,” he explained.
Today, Lamido argued, those openly working against the PDP continue to be tolerated. “Someone like Wike, who claims to love the PDP but is clearly undermining it, should be expelled by the National Working Committee (NWC). Why hasn’t that happened?” he asked rhetorically, underscoring his deep frustration with the party’s current state.