PDP convention: Reps caucus asks NJC to caution judges against interfering in party affairs

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the house of representatives have asked the National Judicial Council (NJC) to caution judges against interfering in party affairs.

BACKGROUND

Some PDP members, believed to be associates of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), had asked the federal high court in Abuja to prevent the party’s national convention from taking place on November 15.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, refused the plaintiffs’ ex parte application.

He ordered the plaintiffs to serve all the defendants with their motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.

However, the judge asked all parties to avoid any step or decision that could nullify the court’s eventual ruling.

The matter was adjourned to October 14 for the hearing of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.

‘DON’T SUBVERT DEMOCRACY’

In a statement issued on Monday, Fred Agbedi, leader of the PDP house caucus, warned against judicial interference in the internal affairs of political parties.

Agbedi said while the judge declined to grant the plaintiffs’ motion, he made pronouncements that were inimical to the convention’s planning.

“We are deeply concerned that despite repeated supreme court pronouncements against judicial interference in the internal affairs of political parties, some judges continue to make themselves available as instruments in the hands of desperate politicians seeking to subvert democracy and impose a one-party system on Africa’s largest democracy,” the statement reads.

“We are worried that while Justice James Omotosho refused the grant of the restraining order asked by the plaintiffs in this case, he still went ahead to declare that any action taken by a party in preparation for its national convention during the pendency of the suit shall be null and void, which might embolden anti-democratic elements determined to truncate the democratic process in Nigeria.

“These pronouncements clearly provide an enabler for those who do not want the PDP national convention to hold so that the main opposition political party in Nigeria will not be able to present candidates in the presidential and other elections in 2027.

“It is worrisome that while the court refused to grant the restraining order requested by the plaintiffs, it still made pronouncements that could be interpreted as providing legal cover for those intent on halting the PDP’s democratic processes. This, in our view, amounts to judicial overreach.”

The caucus leader asked the National Judicial Council (NJC) to prevent abuse of the judicial process that could undermine multi-party democracy in Nigeria.

“The survival of our democracy depends on the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary. The NJC must ensure that no court becomes a willing tool for the subversion of the will of the people or the destabilization of political institutions.”