… Dispute Over Who Can Appoint Party Counsel Throws Proceedings Into Confusion
… Judge Forced To Stand Down Proceedings As Leadership Feud Stalls Convention Suit
Daud Olatunji
A dramatic disagreement played out at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagun, and the party’s National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), openly clashed over who had the authority to appoint a lawyer to represent the party in a pending suit.
The disagreement occurred during the hearing of a case filed by some PDP chieftains seeking to halt the party’s planned national convention scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Justice James Omotosho presided over the matter marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, which has stirred fresh controversy within the party’s leadership ranks.
Mr. Damagun, who personally attended the proceedings, had in a letter signed by him appointed Chris Uche (SAN) to represent the PDP.
However, Mr. Ajibade countered the move, insisting that, under the PDP constitution, only the national legal adviser has the power to appoint lawyers for the party.
Citing judicial precedents to support his argument, Mr. Ajibade maintained that Mr. Uche’s appearance on behalf of the PDP was improper.
The disagreement forced the judge to stand down proceedings for ten minutes to allow both party leaders to resolve their dispute privately.
However, when the matter was recalled, both parties informed the court that they could not reach a resolution.
Mr. Uche subsequently sought a short adjournment to allow time for further consultation, while the plaintiffs’ counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), urged the court to proceed with the hearing if the internal conflict persisted at the next sitting.
Justice Omotosho thereafter adjourned the matter till October 16 for further hearing.
Earlier, the court had granted motions for the joinder of three senior PDP figures — Umar Damagun, Ali Odefa, and Emmanuel Ogidi — as additional defendants.
Their inclusion followed separate applications by their counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN) and Audu Anuga (SAN), who argued that their clients were key stakeholders whose interests would be affected by the outcome of the suit.
The plaintiffs in the suit — Austin Nwachukwu (Imo PDP chairman), Amah Nnanna (Abia PDP chairman), and Turnah Alabh George (PDP Secretary, South-South) — are challenging the legality of the upcoming national convention and have asked the court to restrain the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from proceeding with it.
Other defendants include the PDP National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; the National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; the National Working Committee (NWC); and the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was also sighted in court during the proceedings, a development that observers say underscores the high political stakes surrounding the case.
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