A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a restraining order, once again preventing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP from holding its planned national convention scheduled for November 15-16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Justice Peter Lifu granted the order on Tuesday, November 11, barring the PDP from proceeding and prohibiting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from monitoring or recognizing the outcome of the convention.
The judge ruled that the party failed to comply with relevant legal requirements, including the obligation to publish the timetable for the exercise.This order contradicts an earlier ruling by an Oyo State High Court on November 4, which had granted the PDP interim approval to proceed with its convention plans.
This fresh court injunction marks the second time the Federal High Court in Abuja halted the PDP from holding their national convention. The order was based on an application filed by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who recently alleged he was unjustly denied the opportunity to purchase a nomination form for the national chairmanship position.
Justice Peter Lifu stated that due process is non-negotiable:
In a constitutional democracy, due process of law must be strictly observed by those in authority. To act otherwise is to endanger the very foundation of democracy itself
The order specifically restrained the PDP from holding the convention on November 15 and 16, or on any other date, in Ibadan or elsewhere.
This legal challenges exposes the deep internal factionalism within the PDP as it attempts to gain balance since their defeat to the APC in previous elections. Until the party complies with the court’s requirements regarding due process or successfully vacates the restraining order, its plan to elect new national officers remains paralyzed by legal and political infighting.
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