The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court which stopped the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Convention held in Ibadan.
The appellate court consolidated nine different appeals that arose from disputes surrounding the convention before delivering its ruling.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a three-member panel chaired by Justice Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma, with Justices Uchechukwu Onyemenam and Muhammed Mustapha as members, the court dismissed the appeals and imposed a fine of N2 million against the appellants.
The court affirmed the earlier decision of the Federal High Court which nullified the controversial convention held in Ibadan.
According to the ruling, when a political party fails or refuses to conduct its congresses or conventions in accordance with its own constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act, such matters cannot be treated strictly as the internal affairs of the party.
The court stated that once the rules governing political parties and electoral laws are violated, the issue becomes subject to judicial review and intervention.
It further emphasized that any congress or convention conducted in violation of a party’s constitution and the Electoral Act cannot stand in law because such actions undermine internal party democracy and the legal framework regulating political parties in Nigeria.
