Again, Court Stops PDP National Convention

Again, Court Stops PDP National Convention

For the second time in weeks, a Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from proceeding with its planned national convention. The event was scheduled to take place in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu on Tuesday, also explicitly barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from supervising, monitoring, or recognizing any outcomes from the planned convention, where new national officers were to be elected.

The court order was granted following an application filed by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who sued the party after being unjustly denied the opportunity to purchase a nomination form for the national chairmanship position.

In his ruling, Justice Lifu stated that the restraining order was necessary because the PDP had failed to comply with relevant legal requirements, specifically noting that the party did not publish the timetable for the exercise as mandated by law.

“In a constitutional democracy, due process of law must be strictly observed by those in authority. To act otherwise is to endanger the very foundation of democracy itself,” the judge asserted. He further held that the balance of convenience favoured Lamido, who would suffer greater harm if unlawfully excluded from the process.

The court’s final ruling restrains the PDP from holding the convention on the scheduled dates “or on any other date, in Ibadan or elsewhere,” and orders INEC not to monitor or recognise its outcomes.

This latest injunction deepens the legal quagmire surrounding the PDP’s internal processes. In October 2025, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, had previously halted the same convention in a separate suit filed by three aggrieved party members.

Complicating matters further, the Oyo State High Court had recently granted the PDP approval to proceed with the convention. However, that court has since adjourned the hearing of a substantive motion on the notice, leaving the conflicting judicial orders from Abuja and Oyo State to create a state of uncertainty for the main opposition party.