The Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from proceeding with its planned national convention slated to hold in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, next month.
Justice James Omotosho issued the order while ruling on a suit seeking to determine whether the opposition party could lawfully hold its convention scheduled for November 15 and 16.
The suit was filed by three PDP officials: Austine Nwachukwu, the party’s chairman in Imo State; Amah Abraham Nnanna, Abia State chairman; and Turnah George, the South-South secretary.
The defendants in the case include the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP itself, its National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, the National Working Committee (NWC), and the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The plaintiffs, believed to be close allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who has openly criticised the proposed convention, urged the court to halt the event. They argued that the party did not comply with its own constitution, the 1999 Constitution, and the Electoral Act in preparing for the exercise.
Their counsel told the court that no valid congress was conducted in 14 states, insisting that the case was not an internal party dispute but a legal question about whether the party acted in violation of established laws.
The PDP, however, countered that the matter falls strictly within its internal affairs and lies outside the jurisdiction of the court.
The party accused the plaintiffs of working to derail its transition process and destabilise its leadership structure.
The controversy over the convention adds to the party’s mounting internal crisis. Senator Anyanwu, the PDP’s National Secretary, who is himself aligned with Wike, had recently petitioned security agencies, alleging that his signature was forged on documents sent to INEC notifying it of the convention.
The PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) dismissed the allegation as unfounded.
Meanwhile, the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) has indefinitely postponed the screening of aspirants earlier scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, a move many believe was intended to allow the party await the outcome of the court’s ruling before making further preparations.
Details later…