The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has declared that it will continue preparations for its elective national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, despite a new order from the Federal High Court halting the exercise.
According to the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, dismissed the court’s ruling as “a waste of time,” stressing that the PDP is acting in line with an existing Supreme Court judgment which upholds the right of political parties to manage their internal affairs independently.
Abdullahi’s comments came after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday barred the PDP from holding the convention. The order directly contradicts a ruling by the Oyo State High Court, which cleared the party to proceed with the exercise, a development some legal analysts have described as an abuse of court process.
Reacting yesterday, Abdullahi said the party could no longer be swayed by “procured judgments,” adding that the PDP was formed by Nigerians, not by the courts.
“The judgment is a waste of time. We have gone too far to be asked to stop,” he said. “We are not a political party founded by a court of law but by Nigerians, and we are expected to listen to Nigerians, not to procured judgments.
“There’s no way they will stop us. We have a subsisting Supreme Court judgment that says the internal affairs of parties are within their exclusive rights, and we’re adhering to that. Even if anyone chooses to ignore the Oyo State High Court order that authorised us to go ahead, they cannot ignore the Supreme Court’s decision. We cannot be playing to the gallery of conflicting court decisions. We’ve gone too far; there’s no stopping us.
“Let them wait. When we finish, let them try not to recognise it, if they can. In any case, they can always appeal the judgment, but we are moving ahead.”
