Despite threats by Governor Seyi Makinde, the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has postponed the Southwest Zonal Congress of the party pending the determination of a case filed at a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Justice C J. Aneke of Lagos Federal High Court had on January 19, 2021, ruled that status quo ante Bellum be maintained pending the determination of the originating summons in a suit number FHC/L/CS/63/2021 filed by some leaders of the party challenging the venue of the congress.
The applicants are seeking an order of the court directing that the zonal congress be held in Abeokuta, a neutral state and the Ogun State capital.
However, in a letter addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dated March 31, 2021, and reportedly signed by Uche Secondus, the PDP National Chairman, a new date, April 10, 2021, was purportedly fixed for the congress, with Ibadan, the Oyo State Capital as the venue.
This deepened the warring members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP as many of them kicked against the said date because of the subsisting order of the court restraining the party from going ahead with the congress pending determination of the case.
A source at the meeting of NWC of the PDP said that after a long deliberation over the issues, considering the consequences of disobeying a court order as an opposition party, the PDP decided to ignore the threat by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and postponed the southwest Zonal Congress till after the determination of the suit before the law court.
OYOINSIGHT recalls that Makinde had threatened that there will be “dire consequences” if the South-West zonal congress did not hold on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at Ibadan.
The threat by the Governor was made following early signs that indicated that the congress will be postponed.
