The leadership crisis plaguing the Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has intensified, as 83 aggrieved members have filed a lawsuit against the party’s state chairman, Hon. Austin Nwachukwu, and others. The plaintiffs, in a suit at the Federal High Court in Owerri, are seeking to nullify the state congress that brought the current executives to power.
Led by Lambert Eze, the plaintiffs allege that the state congress, held on August 31, 2024, was marred by exclusion and illegality. They claim that duly elected delegates from Ideato North and Ideato South local government areas were unlawfully prevented from participating, in violation of both the Electoral Act 2022 and the party’s own constitution.
The suit, filed through their counsel K.U. Alisigwe, seeks to unseat Nwachukwu and other top officials. It names the PDP national body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and ten other individuals—including caretaker leaders for the Ideato North and South local government areas—as co-defendants.
The aggrieved members are asking the court to declare the congress “unlawful, null, and void,” restrain the current officials from acting as party executives, and order a new, properly conducted congress that includes all qualified delegates. The case is marked FHC/OW/CS/51/2025.
