The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reaffirmed plans to proceed with its national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State, despite two separate court orders restraining the party from doing so.
The party’s leadership said it remained guided by a Supreme Court judgment affirming that political parties have exclusive authority over their internal affairs, describing the latest injunctions as “a waste of time.”
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on Tuesday barred the PDP from conducting the convention and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to monitor or recognise its outcome.
The ruling followed a suit filed by former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, who alleged that he was unfairly excluded from contesting the national chairmanship position after being denied access to the nomination forms.
In his ruling, Lifu said Lamido had shown sufficient grounds for the court’s intervention, noting that the balance of convenience favoured him.
The court also cited the need to preserve the rule of law and due process in the conduct of party activities.
Reacting to the development on Wednesday, PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the party was moving ahead with preparations and would not be swayed by “procured judgments.”
“The judgment is a waste of time. We have gone too far to be asked to stop,” he said. “We are not a political party founded by a court of law but by Nigerians, and we are expected to listen to Nigerians, not to procured judgments.”
He added that the PDP was relying on a subsisting Supreme Court decision which held that matters relating to the internal administration of political parties remain outside the jurisdiction of regular courts.
In a separate statement, National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, who also serves as Secretary of the Publicity and Communication Sub-Committee of the 2025 National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC), urged members and the public to disregard reports suggesting the event had been postponed.
“The 2025 National Convention of the PDP has not been postponed but will hold as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday in Ibadan,” Ologunagba said. “We are aware of the plots by the APC to destabilise the opposition and impose a one-party state in Nigeria. These efforts will be lawfully resisted.”
The party said all arrangements for the convention were on course and welcomed delegates, officials, and supporters already arriving in Ibadan.
The latest order marks the second judicial challenge to the PDP’s planned convention in recent weeks. On October 31, Justice James Omotosho had similarly stopped the exercise over alleged irregularities in state congresses across 14 states.
Despite the legal hurdles, the party’s leadership has maintained that the convention will proceed as planned.
