The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 31 for judgment in a suit seeking to stop the 2025 National Convention of the People’s Democratic Party PDP on grounds of violations of the party’s rules.
Justice James Omotosho fixed the date on Tuesday after taking arguments for and against the suit filed by three aggrieved members of the party.
Those who instituted the case are Hon Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP chairman), Hon Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP chairman) and Turnah Alabh George (PDP Secretary, South-South).
They instituted the suit seeking to stop the planned November 15 and 16, 2025 National Convention of PDP scheduled for Ibadan in Oyo State where new National Officers are expected to be elected on the ground of breach of the party’s Constitution.
The nine defendants are, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP, Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary of the party, Umar Baturrle, National Organizing Secretary of the party, NWC and NEC of the party, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Omotosho still reaffirmed that his order on maintaining status quo in respect of the Convention must not be flouted by any of the parties involved in the suit.
The judge maintained that he would not hestate to nullify any step taken by any of the parties during the pendency of the case.
During the proceedings, Joseph Daudu SAN who represented the the three aggrieved members urged the court not to treat the complaints of the plaintiffs as internal affairs of the party but a step to enforce adherence to the 1999 Constitution, Electoral Act 2022 and the PDP Constitution.
The senior lawyer argued that Nigeria’s Constitution makes mandatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to monitor Congresse of political parties before they can be valid.
He said that the complaints of the three aggrieved members was that no valid Congresse were conducted in the 14 states before the PDP NWC and NEC issued notice for the November 16 and 17 Convention.
However, the acting National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum represented by Paul Erokoro SAN asked the judge to decline jurisdiction on the ground that issues of Convention and Congresse are internal affairs of the party.
His position was aligned with by Eyitayo Jegede SAN who stood for the National Working Committee NWC and the National Executive Committee NEC to the effects that courts cannot inquire into the internal affairs of the party.
