PDP Insists On Proceeding With National Convention Despite Court Restraint
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to continue preparations for its national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, despite a fresh Federal High Court order restraining the exercise.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi told Daily Trust that the latest ruling “is a waste of time,” stressing that the party is guided by a subsisting Supreme Court judgment affirming that political parties have exclusive authority over their internal affairs.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, barred the PDP from holding the convention, a move that directly contradicts a previous ruling by the Oyo State High Court allowing the party to proceed.
Some legal analysts have described the conflicting decisions as an abuse of court process.
Abdullahi dismissed the Federal High Court order, saying, “The judgment is a waste of time. We have gone too far to be asked to stop. We are not a political party founded by a court of law but by Nigerians, and we are expected to listen to Nigerians, not to procured judgments.
“There’s no way they will stop us. We have a subsisting Supreme Court judgment that says the internal affairs of parties are within their exclusive rights, and we’re adhering to that.
“Even if anyone chooses to ignore the Oyo State High Court order that authorised us to go ahead, they cannot ignore the Supreme Court’s decision. We cannot be playing to the gallery of conflicting court decisions. We’ve gone too far; there’s no stopping us. Let them wait. When we finish, let them try not to recognise it, if they can. In any case, they can always appeal the judgment, but we are moving ahead.”
Justice Lifu’s order, issued following a suit by national chairmanship aspirant and former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido, instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to supervise, monitor, or recognise the outcome of the convention.
Lamido argued that he was denied the opportunity to purchase the chairmanship nomination form, alleging that the process violated his rights and the party’s constitution.
The judge said the order was necessary because the PDP failed to comply with conditions for holding conventions, including publishing required notices and observing the mandatory 21-day notice period.
He noted that Lamido would suffer greater loss if excluded from the process and emphasised the court’s duty under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution to uphold the rule of law.
The ruling comes weeks after Justice James Omotosho barred the PDP from holding the convention over alleged irregularities in state congresses across 14 states.
Contrastingly, Justice O. A. Akintola of the Oyo State High Court had on November 4 authorised the convention pending the outcome of a suit by PDP member Folahan Malomo Adelabi.
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