A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on Friday nullified the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national convention held in the Oyo State capital in November 2025, dealing a fresh blow to the party’s efforts to resolve its lingering leadership crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Justice Uche Agomoh ruled that the convention conducted between November 15 and 16 was illegal, having been held in “flagrant disobedience” of two subsisting court judgments restraining the party from organising the exercise.
The judge consequently affirmed the Mohammed Abdulrahman–Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led Caretaker Committee as the only recognised National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, pending the conduct of a valid and lawful national convention.
In suit No. FHC/IB/CS/121/2025 filed by the Kabiru Turaki faction, the claimants had urged the court to validate the Ibadan convention and recognise the NWC that emerged from it.
However, Justice Agomoh dismissed the claims, describing the attempt to seek judicial endorsement of actions taken in defiance of court orders as “an exercise in futility.”
He also barred Turaki and other officials purportedly elected at the convention from parading themselves as national officers of the party with immediate effect, while setting aside all decisions and resolutions taken at the gathering.
“The PDP can only operate through the caretaker committee until a proper and lawful national convention is conducted,” the court held.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the PDP Caretaker Committee, Chief Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), hailed the ruling as a victory for constitutionalism and democratic norms.
“This judgment reinforces the supremacy of the rule of law over political expediency. The court has made it clear that illegality cannot be sanitised through judicial endorsement,” Orbih said.
The ruling is the latest chapter in the protracted leadership crisis rocking the opposition party, which has been battling multiple court actions and factional disputes over control of its national structures.
Recall that before the Ibadan convention, a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Life, had ordered the suspension of the exercise following a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido.
Lamido had alleged that he was denied the opportunity to purchase nomination forms to contest the chairmanship position, contrary to the PDP constitution and guidelines.
Despite the subsisting court orders, the convention went ahead, deepening divisions within the party and triggering a fresh round of legal battles.
Political observers say the judgment further complicates the PDP’s preparations for 2027, as the party grapples with internal discord at a time when it is expected to consolidate its opposition role nationally.
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