Court halts PDP Natn’l Convention, bars INEC from monitoring exercise

A Federal High Court in Abuja has once again stopped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its planned 2025 National Convention slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The convention was expected to produce new national officers to lead the opposition party for the next four years.

In a fresh ruling on Tuesday, Justice Peter Odo Lifu also barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from supervising, monitoring, or recognising the outcome of the proposed exercise.

The order followed a suit filed by former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, who accused the party of denying him the opportunity to purchase a nomination form for the national chairmanship position.

“The PDP refused, neglected, and failed to comply with relevant provisions of the law and its own constitution in preparing for the planned convention,” Justice Lifu ruled.

According to the court, evidence presented by Lamido showed that the party failed to publish a timetable for the convention, as required by law, thereby disenfranchising members.

Justice Lifu further ruled that the balance of convenience favoured the plaintiff, noting that Lamido stood to suffer greater harm if unlawfully excluded from the convention.

He added that Lamido had undertaken to pay damages if his case was later found frivolous, affirming that “due process must be followed to protect democracy itself.”

“In a constitutional democracy, due process must be strictly observed. When leaders disregard the law, they endanger the very foundation of democracy,” the judge said.

Justice Lifu subsequently restrained the PDP from holding the convention in Ibadan or anywhere else and barred INEC from recognising any outcome until the party complies with the law.

The latest decision comes barely two weeks after Justice James Omotosho of the same court issued a similar order on October 31, citing the party’s failure to give the mandatory 21-day notice to INEC before holding congresses or conventions.

Omotosho had warned that any election conducted without such notice would be null and void, stressing that PDP’s disregard for electoral law jeopardised the planned exercise.

The court therefore directed PDP to rectify all legal breaches before proceeding with any national convention.