By Our Correspondent

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed a previous ruling stopping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from proceeding with its controversial national convention without allowing former Sule Lamido to participate in the race for the party’s national chairmanship.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday, a three-member panel of the appellate court upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court which directed the opposition party to give Lamido the opportunity to contest for the PDP national chairman position.

The dispute centers on the PDP’s national convention held on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State. Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, had challenged his exclusion from the chairmanship contest, arguing that the party violated internal democratic processes by preventing him from participating.

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court had earlier ruled in Lamido’s favor on November 14, ordering the PDP to allow him contest in the race.

However, the party proceeded with the convention despite the subsisting court order.

While delivering its verdict, the Court of Appeal held that the PDP’s decision to conduct the convention in defiance of the court ruling amounted to contempt of court and a disregard for judicial authority.

According to the appellate court, it was clear that the party went ahead with the convention despite being aware of the existing order restraining such action until Lamido’s participation was guaranteed.

The court also rejected the PDP’s argument that it relied on a separate ruling from another court of coordinate jurisdiction to justify its decision to proceed with the convention.

The panel emphasized that no party in a legal dispute has the authority to choose which court order to obey or ignore.

Instead, the appropriate legal step would have been to seek a stay of execution or file an appeal against the judgment.

Consequently, the appellate court dismissed the PDP’s appeal, marked CA/ABJ/1695/2025, describing it as lacking merit.

The court further awarded a cost of ₦2 million against the party.

The ruling reinforces the judiciary’s position on the supremacy of court orders and may have significant implications for ongoing leadership disputes within the PDP as the party prepares for future political contests.