The national working committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, has faulted the judgement of the federal high court in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo, nullifying the national convention held in the state on November 15, 2025.
In a ruling on Friday, Uche Agomoh, the presiding judge, declined the Turaki-led PDP’s request for an order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the national convention.
Agomoh barred the Turaki-led NWC from parading itself as the party’s leadership, saying the convention was organised in flagrant disregard of the court orders.
The judge ruled that PDP cannot disobey court orders and then approach the court to seek judicial approval for actions taken in defiance of those orders.
The judge further held that the PDP can only operate through the caretaker committee until a proper and lawful national convention is held.
However, speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Turaki, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), criticised the verdict, saying the judge granted reliefs that were neither requested nor argued by any of the parties.
“For clarity, we approached the court seeking an order of mandamus to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Ibadan convention and to facilitate official party communications with the commission,” he said.
“In the course of the proceedings, some former members of our party, who had earlier been expelled, applied to be joined and were so joined by the court. They filed processes urging the court not to grant our prayers without more.
“However, and most respectfully, the court proceeded suo motu to grant reliefs that were neither prayed for nor canvassed by any of the parties. More importantly, the judgment is in material conflict with subsisting orders and previous judgments of courts of coordinate jurisdiction.”
Turaki said the party has filed a notice of appeal as well as a motion for stay of execution of the judgement.
“We are determined to pursue this matter diligently and to its logical conclusion in accordance with the law,” he said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this judgment is only one among several decisions of the federal high court on this subject matter, and the core issues arising therefrom are already before the court of appeal.
“In that sense, this particular judgment is, technically speaking, academic, pending the authoritative pronouncement of the appellate courts.”
Turaki said the November convention remains “legally intact, firmly in place, and fully committed to the ongoing rebirth” of the party.
BACKGROUND
In November 2025, the opposition party, with the backing of Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, and Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, convened a national convention in Ibadan, electing a new set of national officers.
The national convention was preceded by a series of conflicting court judgements, with some rulings from federal high courts in Abuja halting the event over alleged breaches of party constitution and electoral laws, while the Oyo state high court in Ibadan cleared the PDP to proceed with the exercise and directed INEC to monitor it.
A group of party members led by Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who opposed the convention, would later form a parallel NWC, a board of trustees (BoT), and a national executive committee (NEC).
In December, INEC rejected the request to recognise the Turaki-led NWC, citing multiple court judgements for its decision.
