The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has stopped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from going ahead with its planned national convention scheduled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16.
The court, in the judgment that was delivered by Justice James Omotosho, upheld a case that was brought before it by three aggrieved members of the party.
The court held that evidence adduced before it established that the party failed to comply with provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as well as its own Constitution.
It stressed that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses before it moved to hold the convention to elect its national officers.
Consequently, the court directed the PDP to go back and put its house in order, and equally send the statutory 21-day notice before it could proceed with the proposed convention.
The plaintiffs- Hon. Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP Chairman), Hon. Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP Chairman) and Turnah Alabh George (PDP Secretary, South-South, had in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, urged the court to halt the planned convention.
Cited as defendants in the matter were: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); PDP; the National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; the National Organising Secretary of the party, Umar Baturrle; two national officers of the party, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi, as well as the NWC and NEC of the party.
The court dismissed preliminary objections the defendants filed to challenge its jurisdiction to meddle in what they insisted was an internal affair of a political party.
Background
In June, Wike met with some members of the PDP from South-South and south-east in a bid to stop the planned national convention that was initially fixed to be held on August 28.
At the meeting, the FCT was proposing a new date for October to allow enough time to strategise.
Wike, though a PDP member, is believed to be holding down the opposition party to boost President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election chances in 2027.
The PDP Governors’ Forum had, in September, cautioned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and others against derailing the national convention of the party scheduled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15, 2025.
On Monday, the party postponed the screening of aspirants for its 2025 national convention citing “unforeseen” issues.
“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, October 28, 2025, due to unforeseen circumstances,” the party wrote in the statement signed by the chairman of the convention committee and governor of Adamawa State, Umaru Fintiri.
“A new date will be communicated once fixed. The NCOC regrets any inconvenience caused by the postponement,” a statement from opposition party partly read.
