Court stops PDP from holding November national convention
A federal high court in Abuja has halted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its planned national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Delivering judgment on Friday, presiding judge James Omotosho ruled that evidence before the court showed the party did not conduct valid state congresses before planning the national convention.
According to him, this violates the 1999 constitution, the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the PDP’s own constitution.
Omotosho noted that official notices and correspondence issued by the PDP national chairman without the co-signature of the national secretary were “invalid” and a “breach of the law”.
The judge further held that the party failed to issue INEC the compulsory 21-day notice before convening meetings and congresses, a lapse that stopped the commission from carrying out its legal duty of monitoring such activities.
He ruled that the PDP’s failure to comply with these legal requirements had undermined its planned convention and advised the party to correct the violations before proceeding.
As a result, the court restrained INEC from receiving, publishing, or recognising any outcome from the proposed convention until the PDP satisfies all statutory conditions.
The court also threw out preliminary objections by the defendants challenging its jurisdiction, stating that the case was not just an internal party issue but one with “clear legal implications”.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, was filed by Austine Nwachukwu, PDP chairman in Imo State; Amah Abraham Nnanna, Abia State chairman; and Turnah George, south-south secretary of the party.
INEC, the PDP, Samuel Anyanwu (national secretary), Umar Bature (national organising secretary), along with the party’s national working committee (NWC) and national executive committee (NEC), were listed as the first to sixth defendants.
The plaintiffs — believed to be allies of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory — are contesting the legitimacy of the planned convention and seeking an order to stop the party from holding it.
