A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to go ahead with its convention scheduled for Ibadan, Oyo State capital, next month.
Justice James Omotosho gave the order while ruling in a suit filed to determine whether the party could proceed with its planned national convention slated for November 15 and 16, reports Daily Trust.
The case was filed by three PDP officials: Austine Nwachukwu, Imo State chairman; Amah Abraham Nnanna, Abia State chairman; and Turnah George, the party’s South-South secretary.
Listed as defendants in the suit were the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP, National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The plaintiffs, believed to be allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, a vocal critic of the convention, asked the court to stop the event, arguing that the party failed to comply with its own constitution, the 1999 Constitution, and the Electoral Act in the build-up to the convention.
Their lawyer told the court that “no congress was conducted in 14 states,” insisting that the issue before the court is whether the defendants violated the law and that it cannot be dismissed as an internal party matter.
The PDP, however, maintained that the suit concerns its internal affairs and therefore falls outside the jurisdiction of the court. The party said the claimants were attempting to destabilise preparations for a legitimate leadership transition process.
The convention controversy was compounded by other internal and legal challenges.
The party’s embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, also an ally of Wike, recently petitioned security agencies, alleging that his signature was forged on documents sent to INEC notifying it of the convention. The PDP’s NWC and Board of Trustees (BoT) have dismissed the allegation as baseless.
Meanwhile, the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) had indefinitely postponed the screening of aspirants initially scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, a development many observers believe is linked to the party’s decision to await the court judgment before proceeding with further preparations.
