PDP STAKEHOLDERS CONDEMN ILLEGAL CONVENTION AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL EXPULSIONS BY THE SUSPENDED DAMAGUM FACTION

PDP STAKEHOLDERS CONDEMN ILLEGAL CONVENTION AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL EXPULSIONS BY THE SUSPENDED DAMAGUM FACTION

We, the concerned stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), strongly condemn the reckless, unlawful, and contemptuous actions of the suspended Damagum-led faction in proceeding with a so-called Elective National Convention in flagrant violation of subsisting Federal High Court judgments. Their conduct represents a grave assault on the rule of law, a desecration of the PDP Constitution, and a deliberate plot to plunge the Party into avoidable crisis.

1. DISOBEDIENCE TO FEDERAL HIGH COURT JUDGMENTS

We draw the attention of all party members and the general public to the clear, binding, and subsisting substantive judgments of the Federal High Court, Abuja—delivered by Hon. Justice James Omotosho on October 31, 2025, and Hon. Justice Peter Odo Lifu on November 14, 2025.

These judgments:

Affirm the legally recognized structures of the PDP

Restrain unlawful conventions, congresses, and unauthorized activities

Provide the binding roadmap for lawful party administration

The suspended Damagum faction, in deliberate contempt of these decisions, proceeded with an illegal Convention. This is an affront to judicial authority and a reckless invitation to anarchy.

2. MISUSE OF AN EXPARTE ORDER

We condemn the attempt by the faction to rely on an exparte order of a State High Court as justification for its illegality. The law is settled: no interim or interlocutory order of a State High Court can override or diminish the force of two substantive judgments of the Federal High Court. Their reliance on such a temporary order reveals both desperation and deliberate mischief.

3. VOID PURPORTED EXPULSION OF 11 STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDING H.E. NYESOM WIKE

We reject in totality the purported expulsion of 11 distinguished stakeholders, including H.E. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON. H.E. Wike is not just a stakeholder; he is one of the strongest pillars upon which the PDP has stood in its most turbulent years. His unmatched sacrifices, his defence of party structures nationwide, his unprecedented support in times of crisis, and his unwavering commitment to the survival of the PDP are matters of public record. For a suspended and illegitimate faction to even conceive, let alone announce, his expulsion is the height of political recklessness, delusion, and unrestrained desperation. It exposes a level of instability, insecurity, and vindictiveness that has no place in a serious political institution. No group acting in contempt of court, in defiance of the Party Constitution, and outside the boundaries of legitimacy has the standing or courage to expel a leader whose contributions dwarf their entire existence.

For the avoidance of doubt, those behind the so-called expulsions lack the authority, legitimacy, and legal standing to take any disciplinary action whatsoever. Their actions are null, void, and of no effect.

4. AN ATTACK ON THE OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL SECRETARY: SENATOR SAMUEL ANYANWU

We condemn in the strongest terms the audacity of attempting to expel Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the substantive and legally recognized National Secretary of the PDP.

The mere imagination;let alone announcement;of expelling the National Secretary is a shocking act of constitutional ignorance and institutional vandalism. Senator Anyanwu is the only National Secretary recognized by the PDP Constitution and affirmed by the subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court.

No suspended faction acting outside the law has the locus, authority, or moral right to undermine the office of the National Secretary. This reckless overreach must be resisted and rejected.

5. INEC ACTED WITH COURAGE AND RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW

We commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for refusing to monitor or validate the illegal Convention. INEC’s principled stance—rooted in respect for judicial authority—reinforces the supremacy of the rule of law and protects the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions. The Commission’s decision is a powerful message that impunity will not be rewarded.

6. THREAT TO THE FUTURE OF THE PDP

These illegal actions, if left unchecked, will:

Collapse internal discipline

Undermine stakeholder confidence

Deepen factional divisions

Damage the Party’s moral standing in Nigeria’s democracy

A political party that disobeys the courts forfeits its credibility before the Nigerian people.

7. THE WAY FORWARD

We call for:

Immediate rejection of the illegal Convention

Total nullification of all void expulsions

Full enforcement of the Federal High Court judgments

Restoration of legally recognized party organs

Return to constitutional order, internal democracy, and rule-based leadership

Only strict adherence to legality will save the Party from further damage.

CONCLUSION

The suspended Damagum faction has crossed every legal, constitutional, and moral line. Their conduct is illegal, provocative, destabilizing, and completely unacceptable. The PDP must rise to defend its Constitution, uphold the judgments of the courts, restore legitimate order, and protect the soul of the Party from those who thrive on impunity.

Nigeria is watching. History is recording.

Signed:

Concerned Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)