By Sodiq Adelakun
The Supreme Court has nullified the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025, dealing a major setback to the faction that emerged from the exercise.
In a split decision delivered on Thursday, three of the five-member panel ruled that the appeal brought by the faction lacked merit, effectively upholding earlier court decisions that had invalidated the convention.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Stephen Adah held that the appellants acted in violation of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court, which had restrained them from proceeding with the convention.
The apex court affirmed prior rulings that voided the gathering, which produced a rival national executive within the party.
The dispute traces back to October 2025 when the Federal High Court in Abuja barred a PDP faction linked to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed from conducting the convention.
READ ALSO:CGC Adeniyi engages UAE Embassy to deepen trade ties, customs cooperation
Presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, ruled that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses as required under the 1999 Constitution, electoral guidelines, and its internal regulations.
In a related suit, Justice Peter Lifu also restrained the PDP from proceeding with the convention, citing the exclusion of former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido from the chairmanship race.
Lamido had argued that he was denied the opportunity to obtain nomination forms to contest, a claim the court upheld as a violation of the party’s constitution.
Despite these rulings, the PDP faction went ahead with the convention, maintaining that the matter was an internal affair beyond judicial intervention.
