By Adeola Badru & Luminous Jannamike

IBADAN— AN Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has again extended its interim order restraining any interference with the planned National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, scheduled for November 15 and 16, in Ibadan. The extension will remain in force until Friday, when the substantive case comes up for further hearing.

In his ruling, yesterday, Justice Ladiran Akintola ordered that the interim injunction earlier granted on an ex-parte motion filed by the claimant/applicant would continue to subsist, pending the determination of the suit before the court.

The judge, after hearing submissions from counsels representing both parties, adjourned the matter to Friday for continuation of the hearing.

Also ruling on an application for joinder filed by another party in the matter, Justice Akintola held that the application could not be entertained because it was not signed by the deponent.

However, counsel to the defendant, Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, argued that the issue of authorship did not render the application invalid since the identity of the deponent was well established.
He contended that the omission did not amount to a total absence of a signature.

In response, the presiding judge maintained that while the application could not be accepted in its present form, it could be refiled properly.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the proceedings, counsel to the claimant, Mr Musibau Adetunmbi, SAN, explained the development, saying, “We were about to take the application for joinder when the Court discovered that the affidavit was not signed.

“However, the other party has indicated interest to file another one. That is what transpired in court today.”

He added that the interim injunction granted earlier by the court remains valid and enforceable pending the hearing of the substantive case.

It would be recalled that the court, in an earlier ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by the claimant/applicant, had authorised the PDP to proceed with its National Convention as scheduled to hold in Ibadan on Saturday.

The claimant/applicant had sought an order restraining the defendants, Acting National Chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum; the governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (for himself and members of the National Convention Organising Committee); and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from truncating or frustrating the conduct of the party’s convention. The court also directed the PDP leadership to strictly adhere to the guidelines, timetable, and schedule of activities earlier released for the convention.

PDP insists on the convention

Meanwhile, the PDP has insisted that its 2025 National Convention will hold as scheduled this weekend in Ibadan, despite what it described as desperate attempts by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to frustrate the event.

The opposition party gave the assurance, yesterday, saying there was no truth in reports suggesting that the convention had been postponed. The event, it noted, remains fixed for Saturday, November 15 to Sunday, November 16, 2025.

In a statement by Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary and Secretary of the Publicity and Communication Sub-Committee of the National Convention Organising Committee, NCOC, the party urged members and the general public to disregard the ‘false’ and ‘misleading’ claims allegedly being circulated by persons working for the ruling APC.

“The National Working Committee, NWC, and the 2025 National Convention Organizing Committee of the PDP informs all party members and the general public that the 2025 National Convention of the PDP has not been postponed but will go on as scheduled on Saturday, 15th to Sunday, 16th November, 2025 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital,” Ologunagba said.

The PDP accused the APC of sponsoring misinformation as part of what it called a failed plot to derail the convention and weaken the opposition.

“The NWC and the NCOC urge party members and Nigerians in general to disregard misleading claims being peddled to the contrary by some individuals who, it has been revealed, are recruited by the APC in its failed attempt to stop the PDP National Convention,” the party stated.

Ologunagba further alleged that the APC was plotting to destabilise the opposition, describing the move as an assault on Nigeria’s democracy that would be lawfully resisted.

“We are aware of the plots by the APC to destabilize the opposition and impose a one-party state in the country; a design that will be lawfully resisted,” he added.

Source; Vanguard News