PDP Leadership Uncertainty Continues After Supreme Court Nullifies Ibadan Convention
…BoT Says It Has Taken Over Control of Party Affairs Despite the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the nullification of the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Convention held in...
…BoT Says It Has Taken Over Control of Party Affairs
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the nullification of the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Convention held in Ibadan—which led to the formation of the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee—uncertainty over the party’s leadership persists.
The party’s two factions interpreted the Supreme Court judgment differently. The Turaki factions accept the nullification of the Ibadan convention with reservations and argue that the Wike-led convention was also nullified because the court invalidated all actions by the suspended national secretary, including those related to the Abuja convention.
On Thursday, the apex court upheld the appellate court’s ruling, as three out of five justices found the Tanimu Turaki-led PDP faction’s appeal to be without merit.
Reading the decision of the majority of the 5-man panel in the appeal marked SC/CV/164/2026, Justice Stephen Adah held that the Turaki-led faction of the PDP, which is the appellant, had violated the subsisting order of the Federal High Court, which initially restrained them from holding the planned convention.
The judgement stems from the ongoing internal crisis going on in the PDP, which led to the holding of the National Convention by a faction of the party in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025, which has been a subject of elongated disputes before the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Before the controversial convention, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held the convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, where a factional leadership led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, emerged. There were two court orders from the Federal High Court by Justice Omotosho, barring the electoral commission from recognising or attending its proposed national convention.
Justice James Omotosho ruled that, while the party had not organised the convention in accordance with legal requirements, the political segment acted in compliance with the party’s constitution, the Nigerian Constitution, and the Electoral Act as the party did not hold congresses in the state or the federal before announcing the holding of the convention, and that the signing of notices and correspondence of the PDP by its acting national chairman without the national secretary violated the law, rendering such notices and correspondences null and void.
Justice Lifu ordered the PDP to halt its planned National Convention after Sule Lamido, former Jigawa State Governor, claimed he was denied a form to contest for National Chairman. The judge also barred INEC from overseeing or recognising the convention’s outcome.
Justice A.L. Akintola of the Oyo State High Court ordered that the national convention must proceed as planned, directing the electoral commission to participate. Although the party’s reconciliation committee recommended postponement amid ongoing legal disputes, the Board of Trustees distanced itself from this suggestion, which was reported in some media outlets.
Despite the order, the party went ahead with the convention, and the outcome was the expulsion of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, along with former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose and nine others from the party.
As a result, the development prompted further legal tussle as it was taken to the Court of Appeal, which subsequently agreed with the decision of the lower court, affirming that the exercise was held in violation of valid judicial pronouncements and that its outcome could not stand.
Not satisfied with the ruling of the appellate court, the Turaki-led faction approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria, seeking to overturn the rulings and validate the convention as well as the executives it produced. In their appeal, through their counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), the appellants urged the apex court to uphold the convention and dismiss a cross-appeal filed by a rival faction loyal to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The apex court, which was supposed to give its judgment on April 22, 2026, having heard the arguments of the two parties in the matter, decided to reserve the judgement till Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Reading the ruling today, in the majority judgement, Justice Adah held that the appellants went ahead in “flagrant disregard” of the subsisting order of the federal high court, adding that the appellants went ahead to abuse the court process by filing a similar case before another court after an existing order barring them from conducting the convention.
“The appellant did not go on appeal but rather went to another court of coordinate jurisdiction… Orders of courts must be obeyed and remain binding until set aside. Whether it is regular or irregular or even perverse…,”
“The conduct of the national convention of November 15, 2025, is null and void and is hereby nullified,” it declared. This court will not lend its machinery to any litigant who abuses the process of the court. This appeal is lacking in merit and is hereby dismissed. Parties will bear their own costs,” it added.
In the minority decision, Justice Haruna argued, among other things, that the process of determining who runs a political party is the party’s internal affairs and thus beyond the jurisdiction of lower courts.
Justice Abubakar Umar agreed, referencing a Supreme Court ruling that only issues related to political party primaries are considered pre-election matters and are not justiciable.
However, the minority judgment also ruled against the disobedience of the court orders by the appellants.
On March 29 in Abuja, the PDP, backed by Minister Nyesom Wike, held its national convention, appointing Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman and reinstating Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The PDP crisis continues, as both factions interpret the Supreme Court ruling differently.
PDP BoT Takes Over Leadership
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party last night claimed it has assumed national leadership of the party following a Supreme Court judgement that invalidated its recent national conventions and leadership structures.
Former Senate President and PDP BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, in a statement on Thursday, said the move was necessary to avert a leadership vacuum and stabilise the party after what he described as an “unpleasant judgement” by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
According to Wabara, the judgment effectively renders all actions taken by the affected officials invalid, including the appointment of Abdulrahman Mohammed as acting national chairman, the formation of a caretaker committee, and the conduct of the March 29, 2026, convention in Abuja.
“The implication is that both the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led and the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led Working Committees stand nullified,” Wabara said.
He explained that the development places the responsibility of running the party on the BoT as the second-highest organ of the PDP, in line with Section 32(5) of the party’s constitution.
“The BoT hereby assumes immediate responsibility for the national leadership of the party as a constitutional remedial measure to restore stability, foster reconciliation and reposition the PDP,” he added.
The BoT announced plans to convene an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) to appoint an interim NWC that will oversee the party’s affairs and ensure compliance with the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Party staff were also directed to resume duties at the national secretariat under the supervision of the BoT pending the constitution of the interim leadership.
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