The internal leadership battle within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intensified on Friday following a Federal High Court judgment in Ibadan that set aside the party’s November 15, 2025 national convention and endorsed a caretaker committee supported by Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
In the ruling delivered by Justice Uche Agomoh, the court barred Tanimu Turaki and members of his National Working Committee (NWC) from parading themselves as the party’s national executives. The judge also upheld the Mohammed Abdulrahman–Samuel Anyanwu caretaker team as the PDP’s legitimate leadership pending the organisation of a fresh convention.
The decision sparked contrasting reactions across party factions, with Turaki swiftly rejecting the outcome and announcing plans to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.
Addressing reporters shortly after the judgment, Turaki maintained that the ruling did not weaken the party’s legal standing, describing it as inconsistent with existing court orders. He disclosed that his camp had filed both a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for Stay of Execution.
“This judgment conflicts with subsisting decisions of courts of coordinate jurisdiction. We are confident that the appellate courts will correct these anomalies,” Turaki said.
He further urged the Court of Appeal to merge all pending PDP-related suits into a single case to ensure a definitive resolution to the party’s prolonged leadership crisis.
Turaki explained that his group had initially sought judicial intervention to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Ibadan convention and resume official correspondence with the PDP.
The disputed convention, organised with the backing of PDP governors, produced Turaki and his team for a four-year tenure after former national chairman Umar Damagum stepped down at the end of his term on December 9.
But the Wike-aligned bloc rejected the exercise and, a day earlier on December 8, announced a separate 13-member caretaker committee with a 60-day mandate, naming Abdulrahman as acting national chairman and Anyanwu as national secretary.
Since then, both factions have been locked in a struggle for legitimacy, with INEC declining to recognise either leadership, prompting a flurry of court actions as the party seeks stability ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While Turaki’s camp pledged to exhaust all legal options, allies of Wike hailed the ruling as a turning point, insisting it reaffirmed their authority and would help restore cohesion within the opposition party.
