Appeal Court reserves judgement on PDP convention dispute

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, reserved judgement in nine appeals filed by rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) regarding the controversial national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November last year.

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The appeals stemmed mainly from separate decisions handed down by two Federal High Court judges in Abuja – James Omotosho and Peter Lifu. There were also counter-decisions from the Oyo State High Court and recently the Federal High Court, both in Ibadan, regarding the disputed convention.

Despite the rulings stopping the convention ahead of the scheduled date, the organisers proceeded with it in Ibadan, Oyo State, between 15 and 16 November 2025, producing Tanimu Turaki, as national chairperson of the PDP, alongside other national officers.

There is another related case before Joyce Abdulmalik, also of the Federal High Court, Abuja, filed on 21 November last year by a rival faction aligned with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike to restrain the Mr Turaki-led group from representing the party and to bar the police and the State Security Service (SSS) from granting them access to the PDP secretariat in Abuja.

On 23 January, Judge Abdulmalik adjourned the case until 20 February in deference to the Court of Appeal over the the appeals regarding the same subject matter of the Ibadan convention pending before it. Ms Abdumalik rescheduled the case for 20 February to take report from the Court of Appeal regarding the appeals.

**Court of Appeal Headquarters, Abuja,**

Thursday’s hearing

During the hearing of the appeals on Thursday, lawyers to the appellants – the Turaki led group – urged the court to allow the appeals and set aside the judgements invalidating its convention. But lawyers to the respondents including the acting chair Mohammed Abdulrahman, whose group aligns with Mr Wike, asked the court to dismiss the appeals and uphold the decisions of the Federal High Court.

Adopting his written brief of arguments filed on 20 November last year, the appellants’ lawyer, Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the appeal challenged the 31 October 2025 judgement delivered by Mr Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

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He argued that the judgement was delivered without jurisdiction and asked the court to dismiss a preliminary objection against the appeal. He also urged the court to set aside Judge Omotosho’s judgment and orders.

However, lawyers to the first to third respondents, Joseph Daudu, a SAN, while also adopting his clients’ preliminary objections and briefs of argument filed in opposition to the apppeal, urged the court to uphold the objections and dismiss the appeal.

Other respondents’ lawyers similarly asked the court to dismiss the appeal.

After hearing the submissions and the adoption of all written processes, the three-member panel which sat on the appeals, reserved judgements and said a date to deliver the verdicts would be communicated to the parties.

One of the appeals which challenged Mr Omotosho’s judgement listed the PDP, its National Working Committee and National Executive Committee as appellants. Joined as respondents in the appeal are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Abraham Nnanna, Turnah George, Samuel Anyanwu, Umar Damagun, Ali Odefa and Emmanuel Ogidi.

Background

On 31 October last year, the Federal High Court, Abuja, halted the PDP national convention scheduled to be held in Ibadan.

The court gave the ruling in a suit filed by some aggrieved members of PDP who were against the convention on the grounds of violation of the Nigerian Constitution, INEC guidelines and the PDP constitution.

READ ALSO: Appeal Court to hear appeals on PDP convention

In agreement with the the applicants, the judge, Mr Omotosho, ruled that the planned national convention could not be validly held because the party had not first conducted valid state congresses.

He stopped the convention and barred INEC from supervising it.

Days later, another judge of the High Court in Ibadan, directed the PDP and its then national chairman to proceed with the convention and asked INEC to monitor it.

But on 11 November 2025, another Federal High Court judge in Abuja, Peter Lifu, again restrained the PDP from holding the convention.

The order came in a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, who argued that he was denied the opportunity to purchase nomination forms to contest for the party’s national chairmanship.

Despite the two orders from the Federal High Court in Abuja blocking the convention, the organisers proceeded with the exercise on between 15 and 16 November in Ibadan, where delegates elected a new NWC now headed by Mr Turaki.

INEC later refused to recognise the Mr Turaki-led group, citing subsisting court orders and ongoing litigation that barred the it from updating or acting on the list of national officers.

Following this, the Turaki-led faction filed a suit seeking recognition of the Ibadan convention and validation of the elected NWC. But the Federal High Court in Ibadan instead nullified the convention late last month.

The judge ruled that the conversation was held in “flagrant disobedience” to existing judgements, and that the caretaker committee remained the recognised leadership until a valid convention was held.