Court declines Wike associates’ bid to stop PDP convention

Wike

A federal high court in Abuja has declined to grant an interim order stopping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its planned meetings and national convention.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, refused the plaintiffs’ ex parte application seeking interim injunctions to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP from proceeding with the party’s scheduled leadership meetings and convention.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, was filed by Austine Nwachukwu, PDP chairman in Imo state; Amah Abraham Nnanna, chairman of the Abia state chapter; and Turnah George, the south-south secretary of the party.

The plaintiffs are believed to be allies of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who has been opposing the planned PDP national

In June, Wike met with some members of the PDP from south-south and south-east in a bid to stop the planned national convention that was initially fixed to be held on August 28.

At the meeting, the FCT was proposing a new date for October to allow enough time to strategise.

Wike, though a PDP member, is believed to be holding down the opposition party to boost President Bola Tinubu’s re-election chances in 2027.

In the suit, the plaintiffs asked the court to compel the INEC to ensure that the PDP does “not hold any meetings, congresses, or conventions unless proper notice has been given and a democratic process/platform has been put in place to conduct such gatherings”.

In particular, they are asking that the party’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for October 18 and the national convention scheduled for November 15–16 be stopped or restrained until the main application is heard and determined.