Sule Lamido PDP convention crisis worsens as court halts convention, Fayose blasts judiciary, and key PDP members defect to APC.
Sule Lamido PDP convention crisis has intensified divisions within the Peoples Democratic Party after the former Jigawa State governor secured a fresh court order stopping the party’s planned national convention slated for 15 and 16 November.
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Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday granted Lamido’s ex parte motion restraining the PDP from holding its 2025 National Convention, citing breaches of due process and potential harm to the plaintiff’s rights.
The ruling reinforced an earlier order delivered on 31 October by Justice James Omotosho, which had also halted the convention on grounds that the party failed to issue the mandatory 21-day notice to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Justice Lifu ruled that Lamido had demonstrated a “genuine interest” in contesting the chairmanship and would suffer irreparable harm if excluded.
He also barred INEC from monitoring or recognising any convention outcome while the case remains unresolved, and adjourned further hearing to 13 November.
However, in a dramatic twist, an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan issued a countermanding order permitting the PDP to proceed with the convention under INEC’s supervision. Justice A. L. Akintola granted the ex parte request of Oyo PDP member Folahan Adelabi, directing the electoral body to attend and monitor the exercise.
The conflicting judgments have thrown the opposition party into fresh uncertainty, with rival factions claiming legal and moral legitimacy.
Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose criticised the Oyo ruling, describing it as “judicial overreach” and alleging that the presiding judge had compromised the matter. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Fayose declared, “The PDP is in trouble.
The trouble has gone bad, and they are in a comatose state. When the fish decays from the head, you cannot salvage it.”
He warned that conflicting court decisions could set a dangerous precedent for electoral disputes nationwide.
Amid the legal turmoil, the Sokoto State PDP inaugurated a convention committee to coordinate delegates for the national event. State Chairman Muhammadu Goronyo urged members to uphold unity and discipline, saying the committee’s work reflected the party’s “commitment to internal democracy.”
In a further blow to the party, former Adamawa governorship candidate and pioneer PDP chairman, Joe Madaki, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Madaki said he left because the PDP had “lost focus,” adding, “PDP is sinking and I don’t want to sink with the party.”
Also read: Senator Agom Jarigbe defects to APC from PDP
The Sule Lamido PDP convention crisis thus underscores a widening fracture in the opposition’s ranks, with multiple court orders, factional disputes, and defections threatening to derail efforts to reposition the PDP ahead of future elections.
