PDP event
Four governors of the Peoples Democratic Party have arrived in Ibadan, Oyo State, as the party pushes forward with its national convention despite a Federal High Court order suspending the exercise.
The South-West chairman of the party, Kamorudeen Ajisafe, on Friday, confirmed the development to Saturday PUNCH.
He confirmed the presence of the governors of Bauchi (Bala Mohammed), Zamfara (Dauda Lawal), Adamawa (Ahmadu Fintiri) and Oyo (Seyi Makinde) ahead of the convention.
Conflicting court rulings
The PDP has been engulfed in crises, with factions loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, and the acting Chairman Umar Damagum, locked in a bitter confrontation over the convention scheduled for today and Sunday, November 16.
In the build-up to the convention, a former governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido, approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek justice after being denied the opportunity to purchase the PDP national chairmanship nomination form.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu ordered the party to suspend the convention.
He also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from supervising, monitoring or recognising any convention conducted by the PDP without including the plaintiff as a contestant.
Justice Lifu held that evidence before the court established that Lamido was denied the opportunity to obtain a nomination form to contest for the position of National Chairman of the party.
The court affirmed that the PDP was duty-bound to create opportunities for its members to serve by adopting deliberate measures that enabled them to pursue their political aspirations.
As a consequential order, Justice Lifu directed that the planned convention be put on hold to allow Lamido to obtain the nomination form, mobilise supporters and conduct his campaign.
“An order is hereby made that before any convention is held, the PDP is to make nomination forms available to the plaintiff,” the judge declared.
Recall that on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, Justice Lifu delivered a similar ruling restraining the PDP from holding the convention, which was intended to elect new national officers to lead the party.
Lamido, through his counsel, Jephthah Njikonye, SAN, had filed an ex parte motion, seeking an interim injunction to stop the convention pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The former Jigawa State governor, in his suit, stated that if the PDP was not restrained, the party would be violating its constitution and, by implication, denying him the opportunity to contest for the position of national chairman.
Justice Lifu, while delivering a ruling in the motion, held that the plaintiff’s application had merit and consequently restrained the PDP from convening the event pending the determination of the substantive matter before the court.
He argued that there was no reason to depart from an earlier ruling delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the same court on October 31, 2025, which similarly halted the planned convention and restrained INEC from participating.
However, in a conflicting order, the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan on November 3 permitted the PDP to proceed with the convention.
Justice Ladiran Akintola approved the convention while ruling on an ex parte application filed by an Oyo PDP member, Mr Folahan Adelabi, and directed INEC to attend and monitor the convention for the election of new national officers.
Reacting to Friday’s ruling, Ajisafe denied knowledge of Lifu’s new order.
He said, “We’re not aware of any fresh court ruling. This is almost 6 o’clock, and none of the party’s leaders is aware of the ruling you’re talking about. Punch
