Two weeks to its National Convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was dealt a deadly legal blow on Friday.
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja stopped the party from going ahead with the event scheduled to hold on November 15 and 16.
Justice James Omotosho upheld a case that was brought before it by three aggrieved members of the party – Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP Chairman), Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP Chairman) and Turnah George (PDP Secretary, South-South)
The court ruled that evidence adduced before it established that the party failed to comply with provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as well as its own Constitution.
The party also failed to conduct valid state congresses before it moved to hold the convention to elect its national officers.
Justice Omotoso directed PDP to go back and put its house in order, and equally send the statutory 21-day notice before it could proceed with the convention.
The plaintiffs had in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, urged the court to halt the planned convention.
Cited as defendants in the matter were the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); PDP; the National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; the National Organising Secretary of the party, Umar Bature; two national officers of the party, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi, as well as the NWC and NEC of the party.
The court dismissed preliminary objections the defendants filed to challenge its jurisdiction to meddle in what they insisted was an internal affair of a political party.
