PDP Leadership Crisis: Supreme Court reserves judgment on Ibadan Convention dispute

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved judgment in an appeal challenging the legality of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025.

The appeal, marked SC/CV/164/2026, was filed by the Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led faction of the party, which emerged from the disputed convention and is seeking to overturn earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court in Abuja that invalidated the exercise.

A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, reserved the case for judgment after all parties adopted their written submissions, with the date to be communicated later.

The appellants, through their counsel, Chief Paul Erokoro, SAN, urged the court to allow the appeal and dismiss a cross-appeal filed by a rival faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

On the opposing side, counsel representing Sule Lamido and the Wike-backed faction, including J. C. Njikonye, SAN, and J. B. Daudu, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the appeal, arguing that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the courts and not strictly the party’s internal affairs.

At the centre of the dispute is a Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, which stopped the Ibadan convention and restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising its outcome until former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, was allowed to participate in the process.

The trial court had held that Lamido was unjustly denied nomination forms and that the PDP failed to comply with its constitution and electoral guidelines.

Despite the restraining order, the convention proceeded, producing the Turaki-led leadership, a move the Court of Appeal later described as contemptuous and an abuse of court process.

The appellate court had upheld the lower court’s decision, ruling that the PDP failed to comply with legal requirements, including valid state congresses and proper notice to INEC, before conducting the convention.

It also faulted the party for proceeding with the exercise while court orders were still in force.

A second appeal relating to the same convention is also before the Supreme Court, filed by the PDP National Working Committee and National Executive Committee, challenging the appellate court’s decision that invalidated the exercise.

That case arose from a series of conflicting court rulings that have deepened the PDP’s internal crisis, including a separate Wike-aligned faction that has already held its own national convention in Abuja and secured access to the party’s national secretariat through court order.

With multiple factions laying claim to leadership and parallel court decisions shaping the dispute, the Supreme Court’s final verdict is expected to determine the legal status of the contentious Ibadan convention and the future structure of the PDP’s national leadership.