BREAKING: Court orders PDP to stop convention for Sule Lamido

By Taiye Agbaje

In what may be considered a big setback for the party a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, ordered the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to go ahead with its national convention until a chairmanship nomination form is made available to ex-Gov. Sule Lamido of Jigawa.

Justice Peter Lifu gave the order as chieftains and members of PDP are finalising preparations for the convention scheduled to hold this weekend in Ibadan.

However, Justice Lifu said the national convention scheduled for Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 must be put on hold until Lamido is allowed to exercise his constitutional right.

The Court also barred INEC from monitoring, supervising or recognising the outcome of the convention until the party does the needful.

The court, in the judgment, held that the PDP, by denying Lamido the opportunity of buying the form to contest for the chairmanship position at the national convention had breached its own guidelines and constitution.

According to Justice Lifu, a party is bound to obey its own constitution to avoid illegality.

The judge observed that by his averment before the court, the Lamido said he was at the party’s national secretariat on Oct. 27 to purchase the nomination form but was denied, even when the form would be closing 14 days to the national convention.

He also observed that from the exhibit tendered, the party’s consensus candidate was said to have stated that “…how we got the form is immaterial..” as long as the timetable for the nomination form had closed.

The judge held that from the tone of such statement, it showed that how the chairmanship nomination form was purchased was irregular and not transparent.

The judge therefore ordered the PDP to create opportunities for its members, including the plaintiff, to contest during the convention.

‘No going back on PDP Convention’

Recall that the PDP had on Thursday told journalists in Abuja that the conduct of its National Convention on Saturday in Ibadan is sacrosanct.

The Chairman, 2025 National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) and Adamawa Gov. Umar Fintiri stated this while addressing journalists after the party’s stakeholders meeting in Abuja.

The stakeholders who attended the meeting included members of the PDP Governors’ Forum, National Working Committee (NWC), Board of Trustees among others.

“We’ve just come out of our critical stakeholders meeting where a lot of elaborate decisions were taken.

“I want to tell you here that we are going to Ibadan for our convention and the convention is sacrosanct,” Fintiri said.

The meeting took place at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja.

Some of the stakeholders sighted at the meeting were Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo, PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagum, National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, and former Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki.

Others are former Minister, Tanimu Turaki, who is the consensus candidate for the position of national chairman at the convention.

Also at the meeting were Senator representing Kogi Central, Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Chairman, PDP South- South Caretaker committee, Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, among others.

It remains to be seen if PDP will defy the latest court order stopping the convention to go ahead with the event.

(NAN)