Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The immediate past governor of Benue State and leader of the State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Samuel Ortom, PhD says that the national convention of the party planned to hold in Ibadan today by a faction of the party led by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is null and void even if held as planned.
Chief Samuel Ortom who spoke in a telephone interview with one of the reporters of Nigerian Concord Newspaper this morning said that he is a law abiding citizen so he will not attend the convention in Ibadan.
According to him, there is an existing Order from a Federal High Court in Abuja that the convention should not hold, stressing that there is no reason for Governor Makinde and the few people in his camp to be lawless by going on with the Convention.
Speaking further, the former Benue State governor noted that the convention is not going to be recognized since the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC too has said that it won’t monitor it. “How can you hold a national convention when the electoral body of the country isn’t going to be part of it as a result of a valid court order” he said.
Chief Ortom said that it’s a matter of a court Order and any convention held in Ibadan by Governor Seyi Makinde and his people is unconstitutional and won’t be accepted by the party.
Speaking on the fate of the Ward, Local Government and State Congresses that had earlier been held under the suspended Acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Damagun, the former Benue State governor said that those Congresses were legally conducted, noting that nothing will tamper with them.
“Damagun is an individual so suspending him and his men won’t have any negative effects on the Congresses that had been held legally across the country” Ortom said.
On the way forward, Chief Ortom urged all the warring factions to come together as one, obey the court order and do “a win-win” thing.
” Everyone must be brought together to have an inputs for the party to move on. But first, the Ibadan convention must be canceled as ordered by the court” he added.
Recall that the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has rejected the planned national convention of the party in Ibadan, describing it as a “nullity.”
In a report obtained by this newspaper, the group insisted that the gathering lacks legal validity and contravenes a Federal High Court order suspending all conventions pending the resolution of a substantive suit.
Earlier at a meeting in Abuja with National Assembly members and PDP stakeholders, Wike emphasized that his faction supports peace in the party but only if it is rooted in justice, fairness, and respect for the rule of law.
He explained that the recent court decision was not an ex parte order as reported but rather a ruling made after all parties, including the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were present in court.
Wike warned members against defying judicial directives, stressing that the PDP was built on the foundation of due process and legal integrity.
He further stated that while individuals were free to gather anywhere, such assemblies would not amount to a legitimate PDP convention.
“The court has spoken, and we will obey. Enough is enough of impunity in PDP,” he said.
Also, the faction’s Acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdul-Rahman, also urged members across the country to boycott the Ibadan convention, which he called illegal and contemptuous of court orders.