The Court of Appeal has affirmed the Federal High Court’s judgment that stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo state, in November last year.
On Monday, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the PDP faction led by Kabiru Turaki, SAN, challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear a suit over the party’s Ibadan convention.
The three-man panel of the Appeal Court gave the judgement in nine harmonised appeals brought by the Turaki-led faction of the PDP, challenging, among others, a court order barring the party from holding its planned November 14 and 15, 2025, National Convention.
The appellate court, in a unanimous ruling, upheld the judgment of the lower court, which stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from validating the proposed convention.
It said the Federal High Court has the mandate to hear the suit, just as it rejected the argument by the Turaki-led faction that the dispute was purely an internal affair of the party.
The court said the Turaki-faction failed to “repackage a clear violation of the party constitution and that of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as an internal party affair.”
While dismissing the appeal, the Appeal Court awarded N2m in costs against the appellants.
