A High Court in Oyo State has ordered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, to proceed with the party’s national convention scheduled for November 15–16 in Ibadan, despite a subsisting order from a Federal High Court in Abuja halting the event.
Justice A. L. Akintola granted the order on Monday following an ex-parte application filed by a party member, Folahan Malomo Adelabi.
The PDP, Damagum, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were listed as defendants.
Adelabi sought interim orders restraining the defendants from stopping or interfering with the scheduled convention, and compelling them to strictly adhere to the party’s guidelines and timetable for the exercise.
He also asked the court to mandate INEC to attend and monitor the convention.
After counsel to the applicant, A. E. Okelue, moved the motion, Justice Akintola granted all prayers as requested.
“This court finds merit in the claimant’s motion ex-parte. Same succeeds and it is hereby ordered as prayed,” the judge ruled, directing that the convention be held pending the determination of a motion for interlocutory injunction.
Conflicting Court Orders
The Oyo court’s ruling comes just days after a Federal High Court in Abuja stopped the PDP from holding the same convention.
Ruling in that matter, Justice James Omotosho held that the PDP failed to conduct valid state congresses in line with the 1999 Constitution, INEC guidelines, and the party’s constitution—conditions, the court said, must be met before a national convention can take place.
That suit was filed by Imo PDP Chairman Austine Nwachukwu, Abia Chairman Amah Abraham Nnanna, and South-South Zonal Secretary Turnah George—figures widely seen as allies of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Deepening PDP Crisis
The conflicting court orders underscore the widening rift within the PDP, which has been engulfed in leadership battles since the 2023 elections.
In recent weeks, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has suspended key officials, including National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu and National Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade.
In a counter-move, a faction loyal to Anyanwu announced the suspension of Damagum and other NWC members, and installed Mohammed Abdulrahman, National Vice-Chairman (North-Central), as acting National Chairman.
As rival factions trade suspensions and secure court orders, the PDP — once Nigeria’s dominant political party — now faces a potentially decisive showdown in Ibadan, unless higher courts intervene.
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