The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the judgment of the Federal High Court in Ibadan declining its request for an order of mandamus against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing the ruling as conflicting with subsisting decisions of courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, PDP National Chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, said the party had already filed a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for Stay of Execution, insisting it would pursue the matter to its “logical conclusion” in line with the law.
Turaki explained that the PDP had approached the court to compel INEC to recognize the Ibadan Convention and facilitate official communications between the party and the electoral body. He said that during the proceedings, some former PDP members who had earlier been expelled were joined in the suit and opposed the party’s prayers.
According to him, the court, however, went beyond the reliefs sought by the parties. “Most respectfully, the court proceeded suo motu to grant reliefs that were neither prayed for nor canvassed,” he said, adding that the judgment was in material conflict with existing court orders and earlier decisions on the same subject.
The PDP chairman noted that the Ibadan ruling was only one of several judgments of the Federal High Court on the matter and that the core issues were already before the Court of Appeal. He described the decision as “technically academic” pending an authoritative pronouncement by the appellate court.
Turaki reassured party members that the National Working Committee produced by the Ibadan Convention remained “legally intact and firmly in place,” and committed to what he described as the party’s ongoing rebirth.
“There is absolutely no cause for alarm,” he said, urging PDP members and supporters nationwide to remain calm and resolute. “This judgment represents nothing more than the navigation of one of the judicial bends along our journey. The destination remains clear.”
The PDP has been embroiled in internal disputes over party leadership and recognition by INEC, with multiple court cases arising from the crisis.
