Four governors of the Peoples Democratic Party arrived in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday as the party moved ahead with plans for its national convention, even though a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that the event should not take place. The governors from Bauchi, Zamfara, Adamawa and Oyo reached the city while party leaders continued to insist that preparations were already almost complete.
The party has been facing deep internal trouble for weeks due to disputes over the coming convention. The conflict became worse after Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, went to court when he was denied the chance to buy the form needed to contest for the office of national chairman. The Federal High Court ruled that the party should stop the convention until Lamido is given a fair chance to get the form, prepare for the race and take part like other contenders. The judge also ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission should not monitor any convention that does not involve Lamido as a candidate.
The ruling came only days after the same court stopped the exercise through a similar order. Another judge had earlier paused the process in October for the same reason. In contrast, an Oyo State High Court in Ibadan allowed the PDP to proceed with the convention, creating two different legal directions that confused the party and its followers.
The South-West chairman of the PDP said no one in the leadership had been informed of the fresh ruling from Abuja and insisted that the convention in Ibadan would still hold. By Friday night, delegates from many states had started arriving at the venue, where music, security presence and ongoing last-minute checks showed that the party was moving forward as planned.
However, INEC sources said the commission would not monitor the convention. Senior officials said the commission would obey the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, though the agency later withdrew a planned statement that was meant to explain its decision.
Lamido, speaking ahead of the event, insisted that the party must obey the Abuja court ruling before holding any convention. He blamed party governors for the crisis, saying years of internal tension had reduced the influence of many party leaders and pushed the party into repeated disputes. He also said he would not attend the convention because doing so would go against the legal protection he received from the court.
On the same day, Bode George and Nyesom Wike appeared on a political programme and took different sides on the issue. George rejected claims that the party was in turmoil and argued that Lamido failed to follow the timetable for buying and returning nomination forms. Wike disagreed, stating that the Abuja ruling was a full judgment while the Ibadan order was only temporary and could not override it. Both men repeated earlier arguments that have deepened the division inside the party.
The party’s reconciliation committee reports showed that several leaders believed the process leading to the Ibadan convention did not follow internal rules, the Electoral Act or the constitution. Some state chairmen said they went to court only after the party failed to release basic information such as guidelines, a timetable or proper details on forms. They insisted that the new Abuja ruling in Lamido’s case supported their concerns.
The committee report also noted that Wike had accused the PDP Governors’ Forum of taking control of party structures and sidelining others. It stated that other governors, including those from Bauchi, Oyo and Plateau, felt Wike was causing internal trouble and working against party unity. The National Working Committee defended its suspension of some national officers, saying they acted without following proper instructions. Those suspended officers countered that the NWC disobeyed court orders and was being driven by hidden motives.
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki warned that the convention could cause lasting damage if held in the middle of unresolved disputes. He said the party was at a risky point, with some governors possibly leaving if the crisis continued. He advised that an inclusive caretaker committee was the safest option and said the governors’ influence in the party needed to be reviewed.
The full committee report pointed to growing distrust between governors and the National Working Committee, legal battles in different courts, and political interests ahead of the 2027 elections. It recommended that the party pause the convention, lift all suspensions and return to the situation before the conflict began. It also asked the leadership to follow the court rulings fully and avoid creating deeper divisions.
Despite the advice of the committee and warnings from several senior members, the National Working Committee and the PDP Governors’ Forum continued with plans for the convention in Ibadan. The situation has now created two active factions within the party, with each claiming to act in the best interest of the PDP while the party faces its most difficult internal challenge in years.