Appeal Court Sets February 12 For Hearing Of Appeals On PDP Convention

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has fixed February 12, 2026, to hear the legality of the recent 2025 convention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), held in Ibadan, Oyo State.

A three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Mohammed Danjuma, fixed the date for hearing in the eight appeals filed against the November 15 and 16, 2025 national convention of the party, that produced the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, the court entertained eight separate appeals which emanated from three separate judgements on the disputed national convention.

The appeals were filed by a group loyal to Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, who wanted to rescue the party from the grasp of loyalists of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Recall that two judges of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court had stopped the PDP from proceeding with the convention while a High Court in Ibadan gave the party the go-ahead and had also ordered INEC to monitor, supervise and recognise the outcome of the convention.

Justice A. L. Akintola had in a ruling on an ex-parte application brought by a member of the PDP in Oyo State, Mr. Folahan Malomo Adelabi, ordered the INEC to attend and monitor the national convention for the election of new national officers of the party.

Akintola’s order came barely 72 hours after Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja gave a contrary order to INEC.

According to Omotosho, INEC should not participate or give recognition to the outcome of the Ibadan convention of the PDP.

Justice Akintola specifically restrained the defendants in the suit marked: 1/1336/2025, from acting in any manner whatsoever that would truncate or frustrate “the Guidelines, Timetable and Schedule of Activity and/or disrupting, preventing and or stopping the conduct of the Scheduled National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fixed for November 15 and 16, 2025 at Ibadan to elect officers of the said party at national, pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice.”

But, Omotosho in a judgement in the suit filed by some aggrieved members of the PDP, namely Hon Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP chairman), Hon Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia PDP chairman) and Turnah Alabah George (PDP Secretary, South-South), ordered the electoral umpire not to give “recognition to any convention not done in line with the law.”

“INEC should not accept the results of any convention in breach of the law,” Omotosho held.

He also restrained INEC from putting on its website any action done in breach of the Electoral Act or any other laws.

Omotosho had based his decision on the grounds that the PDP violated its own laws in the build-up to the national convention.

He pointed out that contrary to the submissions of the respondents, the case of the plaintiffs went beyond the purview of “Internal Affairs” of the PDP.

Omotosho, who stated that internal affairs of political parties is a no-go area for the court, observed that the plaintiffs were not contending leadership but the need for INEC to perform its statutory duty of ensuring that political parties abide by the electoral laws, guidelines and regulations on meetings, congresses, primaries and conventions.

“A suit challenging the executive decision of INEC is not an internal affairs of a political party,” Omotosho said, adding that, “1st defendant is saddled with the responsibility of monitoring, making regulations and guidelines for the conduct of party’s primary, congresses and conventions.”

According to Justice Omotosho, the PDP failed to comply with relevant conditions and laws for the conduct of its convention slated for November 15 and 16, in Ibadan, hence INEC should not recognizs the outcome of the election.

Omotosho stated that INEC may not be able to stop political parties from conducting their meetings, congresses and conventions, the Electoral Act empowers it to “invalidate such deficient meetings, congresses and conventions,” to serve as a punitive measures to check abuses.

Meanwhile, Justice Peter Lifu in his own judgsment restrained the PDP from going ahead with the convention on the grounds that it excluded a former former Jigawa State governor from contesting an elective position.