The Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has upheld the validity of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Ward Congress held on March 15, 2025, declaring it the only lawful congress and nullifying any parallel exercises or lists submitted thereafter.
In a judgment delivered by Justice E.B. Omotosho, the court ruled that the congress conducted by the PDP Congress Committee chaired by Hon. Afolabi Adekanmbi — and subsequently validated by the appeal panel headed by Hon. Shefiu Babatunde Iyiola — produced the authentic ward executives for the Ekiti PDP and will remain so for the next four years.
Justice Omotosho described the attempt by the first defendant and the PDP’s national body to submit a separate list of delegates as unconstitutional and in violation of the party’s guidelines. The court held that such actions contravened Sections 2, 15(2)(3), and 49 of the PDP Congress procedures.
Accordingly, the judge ordered that all steps and decisions taken based on the invalid delegate list be nullified, emphasizing that INEC must not recognize any list other than that which emerged from the March 15 congress. He reaffirmed that the claimants, including the duly elected ward chairman and delegates, remain the legitimate ward leadership as per the conduct and outcome of the validated congress.
This judgment brings clarity to the lingering leadership tussle within the Ekiti State chapter of the PDP, positioning the March 15 ward congress as the only constitutionally acceptable process under the party’s framework.
