The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened at the weekend as the faction led by Kabiru Turaki approached the Supreme Court to halt a planned national convention by the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Court documents revealed that the Turaki-led faction is seeking an order to restrain Wike’s group from conducting the March 29–30 convention, pending the determination of an appeal already before the apex court. The faction argued that allowing the convention to proceed could undermine the outcome of the substantive appeal and render any eventual judgment ineffective.
The legal battle stems from a March 9 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the PDP’s 2025 national convention that produced the Turaki-led National Working Committee. The appellate court upheld an earlier decision of the Federal High Court, which had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the outcome of that convention on grounds that the party failed to comply with its constitution and electoral guidelines.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Turaki’s camp filed an appeal at the Supreme Court on March 17, insisting that both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction, describing the dispute as an internal party affair.
However, despite the pending appeal, the Wike-aligned faction moved ahead to schedule a fresh national convention, a development that prompted Turaki’s team to file an urgent motion on March 27 seeking both a stay of execution of the lower court judgments and an injunction stopping the exercise.
The applicants warned that the convention could create a “fait accompli,” effectively shutting them out of party structures before the Supreme Court has the opportunity to rule on the legitimacy of the leadership dispute. They further argued that, if not restrained, the actions of Wike’s faction could render the apex court’s eventual decision “nugatory.”
At the heart of the dispute are questions over party procedure and legality. The lower courts had held that the PDP violated its own rules by failing to conduct valid congresses in several states and by not properly notifying INEC before the convention.
Meanwhile, the crisis continues to widen political divisions within the party, with both factions insisting on legitimacy and control ahead of future elections. While the Turaki camp is pursuing legal redress, the Wike faction has maintained its readiness to proceed with the convention, signalling a possible escalation in the internal battle for the soul of the PDP.
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