Thursday, November 13, 2025 - The Peoples Democratic Party has reaffirmed that its national convention scheduled for November 15–16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State, will proceed as planned despite a recent court ruling.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the PDP National
Publicity Secretary and Secretary of the 2025 National Convention Organising
Publicity Sub-committee, Debo Ologunagba, dismissed reports of a postponement
as “false, misleading, and the handiwork of political detractors.”
The statement read in part, “The 2025 national convention of
the PDP has not been postponed but will go on as scheduled on Saturday,
November 15, and Sunday, November 16, 2025, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
“We urge all party members and Nigerians to disregard the
misleading claims being peddled by some individuals recruited by the All
Progressives Congress in its failed attempt to stop the PDP national
convention.”
He accused the ruling APC of attempting to destabilise the
main opposition party and create conditions for a one-party state, vowing that
such efforts “Will be lawfully resisted.”
Ologunagba added that the National Convention Organising
Committee was working tirelessly to ensure a smooth and successful exercise,
noting that delegates and stakeholders had already begun arriving in Ibadan.
However, a faction of the party loyal to the Minister of the
Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had earlier announced the suspension of
the convention, citing a judgment delivered by Justice Omotosho of the Federal
High Court, Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025.
Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulrahman Muhammed, and
National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, said the court restrained the PDP
from proceeding with the convention pending the resolution of a leadership
dispute.
They disclosed that the party had filed an appeal before the
Court of Appeal and decided to suspend the exercise “in obedience to the rule
of law.”
“Having filed an appeal and in line with our responsibility
to uphold the rule of law, the PDP hereby suspends and cancels the proposed
Ibadan National Convention pending the decision of the Court of Appeal,”
Muhammed stated recently.
The conflicting positions stem from two parallel court
rulings — one from Abuja and another from Oyo State. While the Federal High
Court in Abuja restrained the PDP from going ahead with the convention, a High
Court sitting in Oyo granted an ex parte order permitting the event to proceed.
The Oyo order has since been cited by the National Working
Committee (NWC) and members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) as the legal basis
for continuing preparations.
Senator Anyanwu, however, argued that the Abuja ruling takes
precedence, given that matters involving national institutions fall within the
Federal High Court’s jurisdiction.
“The Abuja judgment takes precedence,” he said. “The Oyo
order is merely an ex parte order that lasts seven days. Before it was granted,
we had already filed an appeal, which means all actions are stayed pending its
outcome.”
Anyanwu also reacted to reports of his absence from a
meeting of the PDP Board of Trustees, where members reportedly backed the
convention’s continuation. He dismissed the gathering as “one-sided,” claiming
he was not invited.
“If I was not invited, then that meeting cannot be called a
BoT meeting,” he said. “Most of those present have not been confirmed as BoT
members. It was a gathering of friends and associates, not an official BoT
meeting.”
The suspended National Secretary further disclosed that the
PDP national secretariat in Abuja was temporarily shut earlier in the week
following an alleged attempt by suspected thugs to attack the premises.
“On November 1, I wrote to the Inspector-General of Police
and the DSS after receiving intelligence about a planned attack on the
secretariat. I was nearly assaulted when I arrived at the office, and it was
the police that saved the staff from harm,” he explained. “The closure was
necessary to ensure safety.”
Despite the internal crisis, both factions insist the PDP
remains united in its commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and peace.
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