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Says those converging in Oyo State are ‘assemblage of friends’
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Backs setting up of caretaker committee for party
By Lateef Ibrahim Abuja
A faction of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu has declared that it will be legally wrong for the Amb Ilya Damagum-led faction to go ahead with this weekend’s elective convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, considering the multiple court orders stopping it.
As at Friday, three Federal High Courts sitting in Abuja, the nation’s capital, have barred the PDP from going ahead with its convention billed for November 15 and 16, this year (Saturday and Sunday).
But a High Court in Oyo State gave it’s not for the convention to go ahead.
While addressing a joint press conference in Abuja on Friday, Barr. George Turna (PDP South-South Zonal Secretary), Hon. Amah Abraham (PDP Chairman Abia) and Hon Austin Nwachukwu (Imo Chairman) insisted that the convention can not hold.
They pointed out that those who have gone to Ibadan with a view to holding a convention are merely there as an “assemblage of committee of friends’.
They also expressed the firm belief that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, officials will not monitor the purported convention.
According to Barr George Turner, “The processes leading up to our convention, in the view of many, did not align with our party constitution, the Electoral Act, the party’s electoral guidelines, and of course, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Principal among our concerns was the conduct of state congresses. We believed that, by our procedures, state congresses ought to have been concluded in almost all states — or at least a substantial number — to form the bulk of delegates to the national convention.
“We looked forward to guidelines; none were issued. We expected a timetable; we couldn’t find any. We sought information on procedures, including purchase of forms; nothing was made available.
“Out of these frustrations, we approached the court to seek answers. It is now public knowledge that we obtained judgment in our favour, delivered by Honourable Justice James Kolawole of the Federal High Court on 31st October 2025.
“It is important to clarify, because false narratives have spread — that we acted as proxies to stop the PDP convention, or that we are undermining the party’s progress.
“In the build-up to this and following the judgment, the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) set up a fact-finding committee. The committee reviewed the crisis and produced a report.
“As party members, we had access to the report. I wish to draw your attention to a key point from the committee’s meeting with members of the NWC loyal to the suspended National Chairman, His Excellency Ambassador Iliya Damagum.
“According to the committee report, Damagum himself stated that the National Organizing Secretary was running a one-man show and had a hidden agenda that negatively affected state congresses.
“This confirms our earlier position that congresses were not properly conducted in at least 14 states. One wonders how a national convention could proceed while disenfranchising delegates from 14 states, including the South-East.
“The committee’s recommendations were clear: Going ahead with the convention must be subject to favourable legal status and INEC’s position.
“Considering the multiple court orders, INEC is unlikely to monitor the convention.
“An all-inclusive caretaker committee is recommended, because a failed convention will incapacitate the party.
“All NWC members should return to status quo immediately. Suspensions should be lifted and all parties brought together for genuine reconciliation. BOT must be restored to its proper place, the party must be supreme, and internal discipline must be upheld.
“All members of the committee signed the report. Instead of implementing these recommendations, the other group has jettisoned a report produced by a high-level BOT committee and insists on proceeding with a convention. “But this report vindicates us — both the court and the BOT have affirmed that the issues we raised were legitimate.
“Therefore, Nigerians must know the truth — who is on the side of the law, and who is on the side of impunity.
In the final analysis, on behalf of millions of party members whose voices we represent, we call on the party leadership to respect: The judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the
recommendations of the BOT report and the rule of law.
“The party must return to constitutional order, reconcile, and then organise a credible convention that meets legal standards”, the Pro-Anyanwu faction of PDP maintained.
