ABUJA: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has reaffirmed its decision to proceed with its 2025 National Convention scheduled for 15 and 16 November in Ibadan, Oyo State, despite conflicting court rulings seeking to halt the exercise.
The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) made the announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.
Mr Ologunagba, who also serves as the Secretary of the NCOC’s Publicity and Communication Sub-Committee, said the reports suggesting that the event had been postponed were false and misleading.
The NCOC and the party will continue to work round the clock to ensure a successful national convention in Ibadan as scheduled, Ologunagba stated.
He urged party members and Nigerians to disregard claims allegedly being spread by individuals recruited by the All-Progressives Congress (APC) to derail the event.
While thanking Nigerians for their overwhelming support, the NCOC welcomes all delegates, party leaders, officials and supporters of the PDP who have already started arriving Ibadan for the national convention, he added.
The clarification comes amid internal disputes and legal challenges threatening the event.
A faction of the party, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, had announced that the proposed elective convention had been cancelled, citing two separate court judgments that restrained the PDP from proceeding.
On Tuesday, the Federal High Court ruled in a suit filed by former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, stopping the party from holding the convention and directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to monitor or recognize it.
Similarly, on 31 October, Justice James Omotosho of the same court also issued an order halting the exercise.
However, an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan subsequently ruled on 4 November that the PDP could go ahead with its convention, creating legal uncertainty over the final outcome.
Despite the judicial tussle, the party’s leadership maintained that preparations for the Ibadan convention were in full swing, stressing that the event remains crucial for electing new national officers and strengthening internal democracy ahead of future elections.
