The Court of Appeal of Nigeria sitting in Ibadan on Wednesday granted parties involved in the disputed elective convention of the Peoples Democratic Party leave to pursue an out-of-court settlement.
A three-man panel of the appellate court led by Biobele Georgewill adjourned the matter sine die following the agreement of counsel representing the parties to explore a peaceful resolution.
Georgewill urged the lawyers to advise their clients to resolve the dispute in the interest of the party, noting that the court would await the outcome of the settlement efforts.
“The court has granted leave for settlement in this matter. Also, the case has been adjourned sine die to allow all the parties to meet, either individually or collectively, to resolve the case pending before the appellate court peacefully,” he said.
The judge also advised the parties to be mindful of the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 general elections.
“All the parties involved should be mindful of the election timetable as released by INEC. The counsel of the various parties being represented here are in the best position to advise the parties they represent,” he said, adding that the court should be formally informed of the outcome of the settlement discussions.
The dispute arose following conflicting rulings on the party’s elective convention held in Ibadan.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria sitting in Abuja invalidated the convention and upheld the decision of the party’s disciplinary committee concerning some of its members.
However, earlier, Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court had validated the convention conducted in Ibadan.
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The suit challenging the convention was instituted by Folahan Adelabi through his counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Musibau Adetunmbi.
Speaking with journalists after the court sitting, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Sunday Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of other counsel, said the parties had expressed willingness to resolve the matter amicably.
“The parties have shown their willingness to settle, and the court has adjourned the matter sine die for the parties to attempt settlement and report back to court if they reach an agreement,” he said.
Ibrahim added that the parties would refrain from further comments to avoid prejudicing the settlement process.
Also commenting, Adetunmbi said all motions relating to the PDP elective convention before the appellate court had been adjourned sine die.