By Obinna Uballa
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday affirmed a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Peoples Democratic Party from proceeding with its November 15–16 national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, without allowing former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, to participate as an aspirant for the party’s national chairmanship.
The New Diplomat had reported that in a unanimous judgment, a three-member panel of the appellate court upheld the earlier ruling delivered on November 14 by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which directed the party to grant Lamido the opportunity to contest in the chairmanship race.
The appellate court held that the PDP’s decision to proceed with the convention despite the subsisting court order amounted to contempt and a disregard for the authority of the court.
According to the panel, it was not in dispute that the party went ahead with the convention even though the Federal High Court had directed it to allow Lamido to participate in the process.
“The party proceeded with the convention in defiance of the subsisting order of the court,” the appellate court held, stressing that such conduct undermines the authority of the judiciary.
The court also rejected the argument by the PDP that it conducted the convention based on a separate judgment delivered by another court of coordinate jurisdiction.
The panel ruled that it was not the responsibility of any party in a case to decide which court order to obey or disregard.
It noted that the proper legal step available to the party was to apply for a stay of execution of the earlier judgment or challenge the decision through an appeal rather than ignore the order.
Consequently, the appellate court held that the Federal High Court was right to assume jurisdiction over Lamido’s suit and grant the reliefs he sought.
The court therefore dismissed the appeal filed by the party, marked CA/ABJ/1695/2025, for lacking merit and awarded N2 million in costs against the PDP.
Although the ruling touches on a dispute that emerged during a period of internal leadership tension within the PDP, the court’s decision centres specifically on Lamido’s right to participate in the chairmanship contest rather than on the broader factional rivalry within the party.
In recent months, the PDP has been grappling with a protracted leadership crisis involving factions aligned with Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, both influential figures in the party’s internal politics.
The dispute has deepened divisions among party leaders and sparked disagreements over the direction of the party ahead of future electoral contests.
However, legal analysts say Monday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal does not directly resolve the broader leadership tussle between the rival camps.
Instead, the judgment affirms Lamido’s legal challenge and reinforces the principle that political parties must comply with court orders during internal processes such as conventions and leadership elections.
