A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday, October 9, 2025, rejected a request by the allies of Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) aimed at stopping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its upcoming leadership meetings and national convention.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, believed to be backed by Wike, the court presided over by Justice James Omotosho, refused an ex parte application filed by three PDP officials namely; Austine Nwachukwu (Imo State chairman), Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia State chairman), and Turnah George (South-South secretary).
The trio sought for interim orders to restrain both the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from proceeding with the scheduled events by the party.
They specifically wanted the Court to stop the NEC Meeting and Convention of the Party from holding and also prayed the court to compel INEC to prevent the PDP from holding “any meetings, congresses, or conventions unless proper notice and a democratic process” were guaranteed.
They specifically also wanted the NEC meeting fixed for October 18, 2025 and the national convention slated for November 15–16 in Ibadan to be suspended pending the hearing of their substantive suit.
The plaintiffs further sought to bar INEC from monitoring any of the PDP leadership event, particularly, the NEC, Caucus, or National Working Committee (NWC) meetings and from accepting statutory notices relating to the convention from top party officials such as National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu and National Organising Secretary, Mr Umar Bature.
The trio further prayed the Court to order all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of their interlocutory application.
In his ruling, Justice Omotosho cautioned parties against what he described as “pre-emptive moves”.
The FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, who has been at loggerhead with the PDP’s national leadership over the convention timetable. has held on to his membership of the Party, but perceived to be working to seriously to weaken the party’s restructuring efforts ahead of the 2027 elections, while at the same time aligning strategically with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections.
