The Federal High Court in Abuja will on 31 October deliver judgement in a suit seeking to stop the 2025 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over alleged violations of rules.
The judge, James Omotosho, on Tuesday fixed the date for judgement after hearing arguments for and against the case filed by three aggrieved members of the party.
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The claimants are the chairperson of the Imo State chapter of the party, Austin Nwachukwu; his Abia State counterpart, Amah Nnanna; and the party’s Secretary for the South-South zone, Turnah George.
They asked the court to halt the planned 15 and 16 November convention of the PDP scheduled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State, where new national officers are expected to be elected. They alleged breaches of the party’s constitution.
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The nine defendants sued in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); the PDP; and the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu.
Others are the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; the National Working Committee (NWC); the National Executive Committee (NEC); the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; and two members of the party, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi.
Hearing
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the judge, who had at the previous sitting urged all parties to maintain the status quo regarding the convention, reaffirmed that his earlier order must not be violated.
Mr Omotosho first gave the order on 16 October following a complaint by PDP’s lawyer, Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), that his client was being held back by the said order.
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The judge warned that he would not hesitate to nullify any step taken by any of the parties while the case is pending.
After the judge’s reiterated warning on Tuesday, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Joseph Daudu, also a SAN, urged the court not to treat their complaints as internal affairs of the party but as an effort to enforce compliance with the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the PDP constitution.
He argued that the Nigerian Constitution makes it mandatory for the INEC to monitor political parties’ congresses before they can be deemed valid.
He said the plaintiffs’ complaint was that no valid congresses were held in 14 states before the PDP’s NWC and NEC issued the notice for the planned convention.
The PDP national chairman’s lawyer, Paul Erokoro, also a SAN, asked the judge to decline jurisdiction, arguing that issues concerning conventions and congresses are internal party matters. Lawyer to the party’s NWC and NEC, Eyitayo Jegede, a SAN, aligned with that position, insisting that the court cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a political party.
After listening to the parties’ lawyers, the judge fixed 31 October for judgement.
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