The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has granted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) permission to proceed with its planned elective National Convention scheduled for 15 and 16 November 2025.
In a ruling delivered by Justice A. L. Akintola, the court issued an interim order allowing the PDP to hold the convention as scheduled in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The judge also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to attend, monitor, and observe the exercise pending the hearing and determination of the substantive motion on notice.
The order followed an ex parte application filed by Folahan Adelabi against the PDP, its Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum; Governor Umaru Fintiri (Chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee); and INEC.
Adelabi had urged the court to restrain the defendants from truncating or disrupting the timetable and schedule of activities leading to the convention.
After hearing the motion on Monday, Justice Akintola ruled that the claimant had demonstrated sufficient grounds for urgent judicial intervention.
“The court finds merit in the claimant’s motion ex parte. The same succeeds and is hereby ordered as prayed,” he stated.
The judge therefore granted interim orders restraining any interference with the PDP’s convention timetable and compelling the party to proceed with the exercise as fixed. The case was adjourned to November 10, 2025, for the hearing of the substantive motion.
The court’s order, dated November 3, 2025, was issued under the seal of the Oyo State High Court and signed by the Principal Registrar, S. O. Hammed.
The Oyo court’s decision came just days after a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, halted the PDP’s planned national convention.
Justice Omotosho, ruling in a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the party, restrained INEC from accepting any report from a convention held without full compliance with the PDP Constitution, the Electoral Act, and relevant guidelines.
The Abuja court’s ruling effectively threw the opposition party into further disarray. However, in a swift reaction, the PDP dismissed the judgement, insisting that it remained free to continue preparations for the convention.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, described the ruling as “an assault on Nigeria’s democratic processes,” adding that the party’s legal team had been directed to appeal the decision.
Amid the conflicting rulings, the PDP’s internal crisis took a new turn on Monday as heavy security was deployed to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Former PDP North Central Vice Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, resumed as acting national chairman, addressing supporters at the party’s headquarters and confirming his assumption of office.
Mohammed’s emergence followed the suspension of National Chairman Umar Damagum and National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba by the Samuel Anyanwu-led National Working Committee (NWC).
In a counter move, Damagum’s faction announced the suspension of Anyanwu, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, and several other principal officers, deepening the party’s ongoing leadership crisis.
While Mohammed resumed duties at the Wadata Plaza headquarters on Monday, Damagum and his loyal NWC members were noticeably absent, signaling a widening split within the opposition party.
As both factions lay claim to the PDP’s leadership and conflicting court orders complicate the political landscape, the party’s path to its November convention remains uncertain.
(Channels Tv)
