Endgame For PDP As Court Freezes Ibadan Convention

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has again been plunged into deeper crisis as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja stopped it from proceeding with its planned national convention slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State — a decision that many political observers say signals the beginning of the end for the once-mighty opposition party.

In a landmark judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, the court upheld the case brought by three aggrieved members of the party and declared that the PDP flagrantly violated its own constitution, the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Justice Omotosho ruled that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses — a constitutional prerequisite — before announcing the national convention to elect new national officers. He consequently ordered the PDP to “go back and put its house in order” and issue a proper 21-day statutory notice to INEC before attempting any convention.

The plaintiffs — Hon. Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP Chairman), Hon. Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP Chairman), and Turnah Alabh George (PDP Secretary, South-South) — had approached the court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, seeking an order to halt the convention amid complaints of exclusion and procedural abuse.

The defendants included the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP, the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, and other key members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC).

The court also dismissed preliminary objections by the defendants challenging its jurisdiction, insisting that the issues raised were not mere “internal affairs” but fundamental breaches of the law governing political parties.

The judgment has thrown the PDP into fresh turmoil, coming at a time when the party is battling defections of its governors and the deepening rift between Acting National Chairman Iliya Damagun, Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, and the Wike-backed bloc.

Analysts say the verdict further exposes the rot within the PDP and reinforces perceptions that the opposition party is in its death throes. “The PDP is finished and come to think of it the issue over the alleged forgery of the notice to INEC is also bound to throw the party back for weeks,” one Abuja-based political strategist told GWG.ng on Thursday.

With the ruling, the PDP’s already faltering machinery has once again been grounded — a grim symbol of how far the once-dominant party has fallen from the era when it boasted it would rule Nigeria for 60 years.

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