An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan will on Monday hear the motion on notice filed by Folahan Malomo Adelabi against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, and others over the party’s National Convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan.

Justice Ladiran Akintola had, while ruling on an ex parte application last week, ordered the PDP to proceed with its National Convention as planned.

The judge thereafter adjourned the matter to November 10, 2025, for the hearing of the substantive motion on notice.

Adelabi, the claimant/applicant in suit number I/1336/2025, dragged the PDP; its Acting National Chairman, Amb. Damagum (for himself and members of the National Working Committee and National Executive Committee); the Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (for himself and the National Convention Organising Committee); and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the court.

The claimant is seeking, among other reliefs, an order restraining the defendants or their agents from truncating or frustrating the conduct of the scheduled convention.

In his ruling on the ex parte motion, Justice Akintola ordered the PDP leadership to strictly adhere to the guidelines, timetable, and schedule of activities earlier released for the convention.

He directed the party and its relevant committees to hold and conduct the elective national convention in Ibadan pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The court also ordered INEC to attend, monitor, and observe the convention in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Justice Akintola held that the claimant had established a case warranting urgent judicial intervention, adding that the filing of both an ex parte application and a motion on notice for interlocutory injunction demonstrated transparency and earnestness on the part of the applicant.

The party’s governors and National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, have intensified mobilisation of state chairmen to ensure full participation in the exercise.

At least 29 of the PDP’s 37 state chairmen met in Abuja on Thursday, where they reaffirmed their loyalty to the Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) and pledged readiness to attend the upcoming convention.

The mobilisation comes in the wake of opposition from the Mohammed Abdulrahman-led faction, which had announced the suspension of the convention pending an appeal before the Court of Appeal.

At the Abuja meeting—attended by Damagum—the Forum of State Chairmen, led by Dr. Tony Aziegbemi of Edo State, declared “total support, confidence, and loyalty” to the NWC and distanced itself from the Abdulrahman group.

Aziegbemi also welcomed the ex parte order issued by an Oyo State High Court clearing the way for the convention, following an earlier ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, restraining the PDP from proceeding with the event.

He urged delegates to begin preparations, stressing that the convention would provide an opportunity to elect “credible, competent, and loyal men and women” into the party’s national leadership.

Reading from a prepared statement, Aziegbemi praised the “effective and collaborative leadership” of the NWC, the Board of Trustees (BoT), and the PDP Governors’ Forum.

He said the synergy among the party’s organs had contributed to its ongoing stabilisation.