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The woes of Nigeria’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have further increased following an Abuja High Court ruling today stopping its special convention scheduled to hold in the Nigerian capital on August 31.

Ruling on a suit filed by three aggrieved party members – Abba Yale, Yahaya Sule and Bashir Maigudu – Justice Suleiman Belgore ordered Africa’s largest party to refrain from proceeding with the conduct or convocation of any form of convention “whether special or ordinary” for the purpose of electing any officer into the office of the PDP pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Justice Belgore however refused the applicants’ prayer for interlocutory injunction nullifying the appointment of acting members of PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) and restraining the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, from performing any of the NWC’s functions pending the determination of the case.

Yale, Sule and Maigudu had filed an interlocutory application complaining against PDP’s decision to appoint some people to act in the place of members of the party’s NWC, who resigned midway into the substantive suit that challenged the process of their election.

Unless the ruling is vacated, the crisis-ridden PDP will continue to have only three members in its NWC (national chairman, the financial secretary, and the national auditor) and the Jerry Gana Committee appointed to conduct a fresh election at its congress scheduled for August must stop work.

Apart from the setback in court, PDP is also reeling from the rebellion of several powerful state governors sympathetic to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in his face-off with the Presidency and the PDP national leadership.

•Photo shows PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur.

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