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• Conflicting court rulings deepen party’s crisis
• What lawyers say
From Ismail Omipidan, Abuja and
Lukman Olabiyi, Lagos
The prediction by Sunday Sun about two months ago that plans were on by some aggrieved members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to scuttle its national convention, slated for next week in Ibadan, appears to be coming to fruition.
In the report, a usually reliable source had told Sunday Sun: “You know, we have started our congresses as a prelude to the convention. The minister is using members of his group to create crisis in some of the states, as a precursor to scuttling the convention.”
Expectedly, the non-conduct of congresses in some states was one of the major grounds upon which the case of those challenging the planned convention was built.
As it stands, the party appears to be in a difficult and complicated situation, which if not carefully handled, could derail all the gains that it might have made in its effort to rebuild the opposition platform ahead of 2027 general elections.
There are two conflicting judgements, with one asking the party to put the convention on hold, while the other gave it a nod to proceed with the convention as planned. But with the Board of Trustees (BoT) aligning itself with the ex parte order from the Oyo State High Court, which gave the party the nod to go ahead with the convention as planned, there is every likelihood that the party would want to proceed with the convention. The convention is expected to hold from November 15 to 16, 2025.
How PDP got here
In September this year, while the party was putting finishing touches to its preparation for the Ibada convention, a group within the party, led by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, issued a stern warning that unless the South-South Zonal executives put in place were recognised by the party, there would be no peace in the PDP.
In response to the group, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had cautioned that decisive action in accordance with the party’s constitution would be taken against the minister should he continue to undermine the collective interests of the party.
The party’s National Executive Committee members, including Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor and former National Vice Chairman (South -West) Eddy Olafeso, had accused Wike of overstepping his bounds, and had vowed to resist his excesses, stressing that the party was undergoing a rebuilding process and would strengthen its structure through the national convention. They said that no individual could hinder internal party activities, particularly with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) already involved.
But Wike had said: “Well, it (crisis) is over for now. There are a few things remaining and I have told them that they must do it. Our congress was held in Calabar, and there’s nothing anybody can tell us. If they want to have another round of crisis, so be it. In that congress, Chief Dan Orbih emerged as the National Vice Chairman. They never wanted the congress to hold but the congress was held.
“The so-called acting national chairman of the party wrote a letter to INEC after congress was held that the congress had been postponed. There are no two ways about it. The National Vice Chairman of PDP South-South is Chief Dan Orbih. If they don’t agree, that’s another round of crisis.
“The South-East Vice Chairman, Ali Odefa, is no longer a member of the party. These are the things I tell people. What I don’t like is impunity. And for someone like me, we will not condone it. I will not allow it. We will fight it except they correct it. They said that they are going for their convention in November. I am not part of it until they have corrected it. Let us wait; there is still time for them to resolve it. Before you talk about the convention, resolve the matter. If the matter is not resolved, there will be a crisis.
“I am not aware that any convention would be held in Ibadan. As a NEC member, nobody has informed me, and no such decision has been voted on by NEC. If a few people gather to make pronouncements, that cannot pass for NEC. I am not aware of any convention. If a notice of a meeting is not given to members of the NEC, we have the right to challenge it, and nobody can deny me that right,” Wike had declared.
And the threat was carried out.
Signs of trouble
The first sign that all was not going to be well with regards to the convention came when the national secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu raised the alarm that the signature that accompanied the letter to INEC was forged. The matter is already before the court. Once that one was being sorted out, some members of the party approached the court to say that the party was in violation of both the Electoral Act 2022 and its constitution. They, therefore, asked the court to wade in by ensuring that the law of the land was respected. The PDP members who approached the court are: the chairman of the Imo State chapter of the party, Austin Nwachukwu; his Abia State counterpart, Amah Nnanna; and PDP’s Secretary for the South-South zone, Turnah George, while the defendants were: INEC; the PDP; the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; and the National Working Committee (NWC). Others are: the National Executive Committee (NEC); the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; and two members of the party, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi. Once the matter came to the notice of the court, the judge, James Omotosho, had on October 16, ordered parties to maintain the status quo, promising to dispense with the matter on or before the end of the month.
The judgement
True to his promise, by October 31, the court delivered its judgment, ruling that the planning for the national convention scheduled to hold in Ibadan from November 15 to 16, violated the country’s constitution, INEC’s guidelines and the PDP’s constitution. The court noted that PDP’s failure to conduct valid state congresses before it moved to hold the convention to elect its national officers, was a strong violation, it therefore ordered the PDP to do the needful by meeting the prerequisite conditions before planning for the national convention. Based on that, Justice Omotosho directed the PDP “to go back and put its house in order, and to give the statutory 21-day notice to INEC before it can proceed with the proposed convention.”
The court also restrained INEC from accepting or recognising the outcome of any PDP national convention that is not conducted in accordance with due process, the law, and INEC’s own regulations, insisting that INEC is not entitled to give effect to the outcome of any political party convention that fails to comply with the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and relevant party guidelines.
Sunday Sun recalled that the court earlier dismissed the preliminary objections filed by the defendants to challenge its jurisdiction to intervene in what they claimed was an internal affair of a political party.
Presenting their matter before the court, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, prayed the court not to treat their complaints as internal affairs of the party but rather, as an effort to enforce compliance with the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the PDP constitution, submitting that the Nigerian Constitution made it mandatory for the INEC to monitor political parties’ congresses before they can be deemed valid.
He further said the plaintiffs’ key complaint was that no valid congresses were held in 14 states before the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) issued the notice for the planned convention.
On their part, the PDP national chairman’s lawyer, Paul Erokoro, SAN, prayed the court to decline jurisdiction, arguing that issues concerning conventions and congresses are internal party matters. This position was equally canvassed by the lawyer to the party’s NWC and NEC, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, as they both insisted that the court cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a political party.
Morning after judgement
Barely 24 hours after the judgement, the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) announced the suspension of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, (SAN), and two other members for what they described as anti-party activities. The other camp too wasted no time in announcing the suspension of the National Chairman, Umar Damagum, and five other members of the National Working Committee. The group, loyal to Wike, went a step further by crowning the party’s National Vice Chairman (North Central), Mohammed Abdulrahman, as the Acting National Chairman.
Other News
Protest at PDP’s secretariat
By Monday, a protest erupted at the party’s national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Abuja, following the takeover of the place by supporters of the factional acting National Chairman of the party, Mohammed Abdulrahman. The group, chanted solidarity songs, and demanded that the NWC, led by Damagum, should leave the headquarters immediately, so as to allow Abdulrahman, who was named the acting national chairman of the party by the Wike group, take charge.
Although, security operatives were immediately deployed to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order as both factions struggle for control of the party’s secretariat, the faction of the party’s NWC led by Abdulrahman has since taken control of the party’s National Chairman’s office and have been calling shots ever since.
BoT intervenes
The party’s BoT, on Wednesday, intervened by setting up a six-member reconciliation committee to re-unite the two factions. The committee is being headed by Ambassador Hassan Adamu, with a representative from each of the six geopolitical zones of the country. Its major task is to resolve the on-going dispute among members of the NWC by reconciling the two warring groups.
What lawyers say
By law, an order of a Federal High Court, however silly, supersedes that of a state high court. Ordinarily, to be on a safe side, all PDP needs to do was to approach an appellate court to set aside the decision of the Federal High Court. This fact, was lent credence to by no less a personality than the current Ibadan branch chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ibrahim Lawal as other lawyers.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sunday Sun, Lawal was emphatic when he said that if the PDP goes ahead with the convention, and the action is challenged, whatever happened in the convention would become a nullity.
“Well, as we all know, there is a Federal High Court judgement. Whether it is good or bad, it must be obeyed. If they go ahead, whatever they do and it is challenged, it becomes a nullity. An order from a State High Court cannot invalidate or supersedes that of a Federal High court. The only thing they can do is to approach an Appeal Court to get the judgement of the Federal High Court set aside. Otherwise, whatever they are doing is a mere waste of time,” Lawal said.
In his reaction to the development, former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Mr Dave Ajetomobi, described the conflicting court rulings on the proposed PDP national convention as a clear abuse of court process.
Ajetomobi said the case filed in Ibadan was unnecessary since the same subject matter was already pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“The Ibadan case is an abuse of court process. The subject matter is already before the Federal High Court in Abuja, and every party member is aware of that fact. It is, therefore, a deliberate effort by those who instituted the Ibadan case to frustrate the judicial process by seeking an order from another court to reverse the Abuja court’s decision,” he said.
Ajetomobi said the PDP should have appealed the Abuja court’s order at a higher court instead of approaching another court of coordinate jurisdiction to obtain a contrary ruling.
He also criticized the lawyers involved in both cases, saying they should face disciplinary action from the Bar for bringing the legal profession into disrepute.
“Lawyers are involved in both cases. They ought to be sanctioned by the disciplinary body of the Bar for bringing the profession into ridicule,” he added.
The former NBA chairman urged the judiciary to take a firm stand on the handling of political cases, warning that such controversies often portray the judicial system in a bad light.
On which of the conflicting orders the PDP should obey, Ajetomobi noted that the party members who secured the Abuja order would naturally comply with it, while those who obtained the favourable ruling in Ibadan would also obey theirs.
“It is high time the judiciary put its foot down and ensured that judges handle political cases with utmost care,” he stressed.
Legal practitioner and rights activist, Maduka Onwukeme, expressed concern over the conflicting court orders surrounding the PDP national convention, describing the situation as a reflection of deep-seated division within the party.
Reacting to the development, Onwukeme noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised that courts should avoid interfering in the internal affairs of political parties.
“In respect of your question, the PDP remains factionalised, and each faction will naturally obey the judgment that suits its interests,” he stated.
He further warned that the on-going legal tussle could worsen the crisis in the opposition party, adding that only the Supreme Court can eventually determine which faction is legitimate.
“At the end of the day, the Supreme Court would have to decide which faction is right or wrong, but that process will only prolong the crisis and further weaken the party’s chances in the next general elections,” Onwukeme said
Last line
Although the BoT claimed that it is not siding any of the warring factions, its decision to support the Ibadan High Court Order, is already seen in some quarters as taking side, a development that would make the reconciliation it is pursuing somewhat difficult. And with the fresh decision by the Wike group to call off the convention based on the Federal High court ruling, the PDP appears to be in for another long night, the outcome of which may make or break the party. But one thing is however clear, from Sunday Sun findings so far, the PDP crisis is far from being over.
