PDP: Abuja Court Fixes October 31 for Judgment in Suit to Halt 2025 National Convention

The controversy surrounding the planned 2025 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set for a climax, as the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled October 31 for final judgment in the suit seeking to stop the gathering. The convention, originally slated for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State, where new National Officers are due to be elected, faces a significant legal hurdle as a result of alleged breaches of the party’s Constitution.

Dependable NG reports that Justice James Omotosho fixed the judgment date on Tuesday, following a comprehensive hearing of arguments from the counsel representing both the aggrieved members and the party leadership. The lawsuit was filed by three prominent and disgruntled PDP members: Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP chairman), Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP chairman), and Turnah Alabh George (PDP Secretary, South-South). They are challenging the legitimacy of the convention on the grounds that no valid Congresses were conducted in 14 states before the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) issued the notice for the convention.

During the proceedings, Justice Omotosho sternly reaffirmed his standing order that all parties involved in the suit must maintain the status quo. The Judge warned that he would not hesitate to nullify any actions or steps taken by any of the defendants during the pendency of the case, a clear message aimed at preventing the party’s leadership from proceeding with the convention before the court’s final determination.

Representing the plaintiffs, Joseph Daudu SAN argued that the court must not dismiss the suit as merely an “internal affair” of the party. He stressed that the case is fundamentally about enforcing adherence to the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the PDP Constitution. Daudu insisted that the national Constitution makes it mandatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) one of the nine defendants to monitor Congresses of political parties for them to be legally valid. Countering this position, the acting National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, represented by Paul Erokoro SAN, asked the court to decline jurisdiction, arguing that issues related to conventions and congresses are strictly internal affairs of the PDP. This position was fully supported by Eyitayo Jegede SAN, representing the NWC and NEC, who maintained that courts are prohibited from inquiring into the internal affairs of a political party. The fate of the 2025 PDP National Convention now rests entirely on the court’s judgment scheduled for the end of the month.