The Peoples Democratic Party Faction headed by Taminu Turaki, SAN, has headed to the Supreme Court hours after the Court of Appeal, Abuja, upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognizing the outcome of the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, and upheld the suspension of Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN) and other top party officials.
In a statement, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, Ini Ememobong, stressed that the convention is a party internal issue.
However, the camp of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has appealed for party unity ahead of the convention scheduled for March 29th and 30th, 2026.
The PDP governors had earlier backed the Ibadan convention on November 15, 2025, which elected Turaki and other members of the National Working Committee to four-year terms.
They also supervised the leadership transition from former acting chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki, whose term expired on December 9.
Meanwhile, on December 8, the side loyal to the FCT minister established a 13-member caretaker committee, chaired by Mohammed Abdulrahman as acting national chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as acting national secretary, among others, with a 60-day term.
Attempts by both the Wike-aligned group and the governors’ side to convene meetings in the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, on November 18, 2025, resulted in turmoil.
The Nigeria Police Force sealed the secretariat, which has remained closed since. Both factions sought recognition from the Independent National Electoral Commission, but the commission refused to acknowledge either group, leading to legal disputes.
On February 12, the Court of Appeal heard all the consolidated cases concerning the PDP leadership crisis and delivered its judgment on Monday. The appellate court upheld the judgment.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal affirmed that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to hear the claim, rejecting the contention that the disagreement was purely internal to the party.
The court ruled that the appellants couldn’t “repackage a clear violation of the party constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as an internal party affair.”
Justice Onyemenam further ruled that the PDP failed to comply with the constitutional and legislative requirements for a legal national convention.
Among other things, the court determined that no legitimate notice of the convention was filed with INEC as required by law and that valid congresses were not held in more than 14 states prior to the convention being concerned.
The appellate court stressed that compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the party’s constitution and guidelines was fundamental to democratic governance.
“Non-compliance with the 1999 Constitution, Electoral Act 2022, and party Constitution and Guidelines are at the heart of democratic governance, and compliance must be strictly enforced in the interest of democracy,” the court held.
The panel also upheld the suspension of the national legal adviser, Ajibade (SAN).
As a result, the appellate court dismissed the appeal and assessed the appellants with N2 million in costs.
In his October 31, 2025 order, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court stopped INEC from receiving, publishing, or recognizing the convention’s outcome unless the party complied with the relevant legal rules.
The trial judge ruled that the evidence presented in court demonstrated that congresses were not held in some states of the federation and that the PDP failed to provide the statutory 21-day notice required for INEC to supervise its meetings and congresses.
Omotosho further declared that notices and correspondence issued by the party’s national chairman without the approval of the national secretary were invalid.
The complaint, FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, was filed by three dissatisfied PDP members: Austin Nwachukwu, Imo State PDP Chairman; Amah Abraham Nnanna, Abia State PDP Chairman; and Turnah Alabh George, PDP Secretary for the South South.
The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), had urged the court to halt the planned convention at which new national officers of the party were expected to be chosen.
INEC, the PDP, the party’s National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, National Organizing Secretary Umar Bature, the PDP National Working Committee, the National Executive Committee, acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, Ali Odefa, and Emmanuel Ogidi were all named as defendants in the complaint.
Similarly, the Court of Appeal upheld the Federal High Court’s decision prohibiting the PDP from holding its November national convention in Ibadan without permitting Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, to participate as a chairmanship candidate.
The three-member panel of the appellate court unanimously maintained the November 14 verdict delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which directed the party to give Lamido the option to run for the party’s national presidency.
The appellate court ruled that the PDP’s decision to proceed with the convention despite the Federal High Court’s existing ruling was disrespectful and demonstrated a disregard for the court’s authority.
According to the panel, it was clear that the party pushed forward with the convention despite the court ruling instructing it to allow Lamido to participate.
The court dismissed the PDP’s claim that it carried out the convention in accordance with the decision of another court of coordinating jurisdiction.
In response, Ememobong indicated that they will file an appeal with the Supreme Court, expressing confidence that the court would quickly decide the problem in the interest of democracy.
The statement read, “Earlier today, the Court of Appeal delivered a judgment on appeals arising from the judgments delivered by Justice Omotosho and Justice Lifu and a ruling by Justice Abdulmalik.
“The panel of the court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma, upheld the suspension of the National Legal Adviser (and, by extension, other officers like the National Secretary and National Organizing Secretary).
“The court also upheld the judgments of Justices Omotosho and Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The appeal against the interlocutory orders of Justice Abdulmalik was dismissed.
“The operationalization of this judgment will, without fail, work untold hardship on our members. To avert this, while we are consulting with critical organs of our party on the way forward, we have also instructed our lawyers to immediately take legal steps to appeal the same to the Supreme Court, the apex court in the land, to conclusively adjudicate on this matter. We are hopeful that the apex court will expeditiously settle this matter in the interest of democracy.
“We urge our members to stand firm, trusting that soon this battle will be over, and we shall be more than conquerors. The battle to rescue our party from the hands of government agents masquerading as opposition leaders must be fought, and we are determined to do so and win.”
Earlier, in a conversation with journalists shortly after the decision, Turaki argued that judges should not engage in political parties’ internal issues.
Turaki stated that the party believed that judges should not interfere with the internal administration of political parties.
“We have listened to the judgments of the Court of Appeal, and we still maintain our position that our courts have no business meddling in matters that are purely political.
“These are matters that should be left to the internal affairs and internal resolution of the political parties,” he said.
Turaki also stated that the party would study the judgments before deciding on its next line of action.
“We have asked our lawyers to collect the certified copies of the judgments that have been delivered by the court. The court has promised that the judgments should be ready by tomorrow.
“So, as soon as the judgments are received by our lawyers, they will advise us on what further necessary steps to take, if any, based on such judgments,” he noted.
Reacting, Anyanwu stated that there is “no victor and no vanquished,” emphasizing that the outcome is a win for party members and for democracy.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, Anyanwu urged party leaders to unite and work together with a common purpose.
Anyanwu stated, “This is a victory for democracy and a victory for all members of our party. There is no victor and no vanquished; we are all one as party members. This is a time for action. It is time for all of us to come together and reposition the party, especially ahead of the forthcoming convention.
“As far as we are concerned, we are happy with the court’s judgment and satisfied with the way it resolved these issues.
“For those considering going to the Supreme Court, we wish them the best. However, it is clear that the court’s judgment today is grounded in the laws of the country, including the Electoral Act, the Nigerian Constitution, and other relevant provisions.”
