Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 31 for judgement in the suit seeking to stop the 2025 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP.
Justice James Omotosho made the adjournment after parties adopted their processes in the suit filed by three aggrieved APC members, on grounds of alleged violation of the party’s rules.
The suit was instituted, seeking to stop the planned November 15 and 16, 2025 National Convention of PDP scheduled to hold in Ibadan in Oyo State.
During proceedings, counsel for the plaintiffs Joseph Daudu, SAN, urged the court not to treat the complaints of the plaintiffs as internal affairs of the party but a step to enforce adherence to the 1999 Constitution, Electoral Act 2022 and the PDP Constitution.
He argued that Nigeria’s Constitution makes mandatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to monitor congresses of political parties before they can be valid, noting that the complaints of the three aggrieved members was that no valid congresses were conducted in 14 states before the PDP National Working Committee, NWC and National Executive Committee, NEC issued notice for the November 16 and 17 Convention.
On his part, Paul Erokoro, SAN, who represented the APC National Chairman, Umar Damagum, urged the court to decline jurisdiction on the ground that issues of Convention and Congresses are internal affairs of the party.
Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, who stood for the NWC and NEC, aligned himself with Erokoro’s submissions, noting that the courts cannot inquire into the internal affairs of the party.
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Justice Omotosho, however, adjourned, reaffirming that his order on maintaining status quo in respect of the Convention must not be flouted by any of the parties involved in the suit, maintaining that he would not hesitate to nullify any step taken by any of the parties during the pendency of the case.
The nine defendants in the suit are INEC, PDP, its National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Baturrle, NWC and NEC, Umar Damagum, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
