Defying court order, Ekiti PDP holds congresses

In open defiance of a restraining order from an Ekiti State High Court, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) proceeded with its local government and state congresses on Wednesday, describing the exercises as peaceful and successfully concluded.

This came just hours after Justice E. B. Omotosho of the Ado Ekiti High Court issued an interim injunction halting the congresses, pending the resolution of a suit filed by a party member, Afolabi Adedeji.

The court order stemmed from an ex parte motion in suit number HAD/424M/2025, in which Adedeji asked the court to stop the PDP and its leaders from accepting any delegates who did not buy nomination forms or participate in the ward congresses by majority vote. He insisted that only those elected on March 15, 2025, should be recognised.

Read also: ‘Boko Haram jumps at us the way we don’t expect’, defence minister, Badaru, confesses

The suit lists as defendants the PDP, its Acting National Chairman Umar Damagun, National Organising Secretary Umar Bature, Ekiti State Caretaker Chairman Dare Adeleke, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

As part of his request, Adedeji also sought substituted service of the court documents on the defendants, citing that their addresses were outside the court’s jurisdiction. The court granted the request.

“Leave is hereby granted to the claimant/applicant to serve the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants the originating process with its accompanying documents by substituted means, by pasting the same on the wall of the 1st defendant’s office located on Ajilosun Street, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State,” ruled Justice Omotosho.

He added, “In addition, the claimant/applicant is granted leave to serve the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants via their WhatsApp phone numbers — 08047677070, 08035961850, and 08033242822, respectively.”

The court also directed all parties to maintain the status quo pending the hearing of the motion on notice, scheduled for May 14, 2025.

Despite the legal setback, the Ekiti PDP Caretaker Committee hailed the congress as a significant success, praising both the conduct and the turnout.

“We are thrilled that the congress commenced and concluded smoothly without any hitches. It is on record that we started ahead of schedule at 8 a.m. and by noon, we had concluded,” said Dare Adeleke, the caretaker chairman, in a statement from Ado Ekiti.

Adeleke also commended the Electoral Panel led by Dr. Eddy Olafeso, describing their conduct as exceptional.
“Today’s peaceful outing shows how organised and dedicated the committee was in preparing for this congress,” he said.

The clash between legal rulings and party actions sets the stage for further tension ahead of the next court hearing.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now