Confusion In PDP As Two Abuja Courts Deliver Conflicting Judgments On Convention

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been thrown into confusion after two Federal High Court rulings in Abuja issued opposing directives regarding the party’s planned national convention.

In one case, Justice James Omotosho restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the outcome of the convention.

The court held that the PDP had not complied with legal requirements, noting that congresses were not held in some states, notices of meetings were improperly signed, and the mandatory 21-day notification to INEC was not observed.

The judge warned that the convention could not proceed legally and advised the party to meet all legal obligations before conducting elections.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, was filed by three PDP members; Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP chairman), Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP chairman), and Turnah Alabh George (PDP Secretary, South-South)  through their lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN).

The nine defendants included INEC, PDP, key party officials, and NWC and NEC members.

Daudu argued that the case was not merely an internal party matter but a constitutional requirement under the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the PDP Constitution.

He stressed that INEC is mandated to monitor political party congresses before any convention is valid.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido filed a motion seeking to restrain the PDP from holding its national convention.

Justice Lifu ordered the PDP and INEC to appear in court to show cause why Lamido’s requested interim orders should not be granted.

The suit, filed as FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025, gives the defendants 72 hours to respond, with the next hearing scheduled for November 6.

Lamido seeks court orders barring the PDP from conducting the convention and preventing INEC from supervising, monitoring, or recognising it.

Representing the PDP, senior lawyers Paul Erokoro (SAN) and Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) argued that the courts should not interfere in the party’s internal affairs, emphasizing that matters relating to conventions and congresses fall within the party’s jurisdiction.

The conflicting court decisions have left PDP members uncertain about the legality of proceeding with the convention scheduled for November 15–16 in Ibadan.