The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the national convention organised by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Gatekeepers News reports that the appellate court delivered the ruling on Monday, dismissing an appeal filed by a faction of PDP challenging the earlier decision of the Federal High Court.
The lower court had barred INEC from monitoring or validating the outcome of the party’s national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal held that the trial court acted correctly when it issued the restraining order against INEC. The judges ruled that the PDP failed to comply with key provisions of its constitution and internal procedures required before conducting such a convention.
The dispute stemmed partly from complaints that some party stakeholders, including former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, were excluded from the race for the party’s national chairmanship. The Federal High Court had earlier ordered the party to allow Lamido to participate in the contest, but the PDP proceeded with the convention despite the subsisting order.
In its judgment, the appellate court said political parties are not at liberty to disregard valid court orders. It emphasised that if the PDP disagreed with the ruling, the proper step would have been to seek a stay of execution or pursue an appeal before going ahead with the convention.
The appeal was consequently dismissed for lacking merit, with the court reportedly awarding N2 million in costs against the PDP faction that filed the appeal.
The ruling is seen as another development in the ongoing leadership crisis within the opposition party, as factions continue to contest the legitimacy of decisions taken during the Ibadan convention.
