While other parties prepare for the 2027 general elections in the race against time following the revised election timetable recently released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) continues to sink deeper in its crisis of legitimacy after yesterday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal upholding the invalidation of the party’s November 15-16, 2025 Ibadan National Convention.
The leadership crisis in the party has rendered the former main opposition very weak to participate in the forthcoming elections, a development which does not confer legitimacy to either the Caretaker Committee or the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee that emerged from the Ibadan convention.
Ruling on the matter brought before it by the embattled PDP chairman, Turaki, the Court of Appeal, while affirming the October 31, 2025 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, restrained INEC from recognising the outcome of the Ibadan convention.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who led the three-man panel. held that PDP violated Constitutional provisions required before such a convention can become valid and failed to serve INEC with a valid notice as required by law.
While noting that valid congresses were not held in more than 14 states as provided by law before the 2025 convention was put in place, Justice Onyemenam said the case of the aggrieved PDP members, who instituted the case against the party, cannot be circumscribed as an internal affair of the party, as erroneously held.
“Having failed to comply with the relevant laws, the Federal High Court was right in assuming jurisdiction and grant restraining order against INEC from accepting or recognising the outcome of the PDP 2025 national convention. Non-compliance with the 1999 Constitution, Electoral Act 2022 and party Constitution and Guidelines are at the heart of democratic governance and compliance must be strictly enforced in the interest of democracy,” the Court of Appeal held.
But the National Working Committee, led by Turaki, has rejected the Appeal Court judgment. In a statement issued after the verdict, Ini Ememobong, PDP spokesperson of the Turaki faction, said the party’s lawyers have been directed to file an appeal against the judgment at the Supreme Court.
“The operationalisation of this judgment will, without fail, cause untold hardship on our members,” the statement reads. “To avert this, while we are consulting with critical organs of our party on the way forward, we have also instructed our lawyers to immediately take legal steps to appeal the same to the Supreme Court, being the apex court in the land, to conclusively adjudicate on this matter.”
Ememobong said the party is hopeful that the apex court will “expeditiously settle this matter in the interest of democracy”. The PDP spokesperson urged party members to be united, adding that the legal battle will soon be over and they will be “more than conquerors”.
Ememobong said the PDP must be rescued “from the hands of government agents masquerading as opposition leaders”.
ADC woos PDP last two standing governors as Bala storms out of court
GOVERNOR Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State yesterday stormed out of the premises of the Court of Appeal in Abuja while proceedings in the ongoing PDP leadership dispute were still underway, as the camp of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, secured victory in the first appeal decided by the appellate court.
Amid the ensuing drama, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Usman Okai, has called on prominent opposition figures, including Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Governor Mohammed, to leave PDP and join the ADC ahead of the forthcoming ward congresses.
Okai made the call in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, where he also appealed to members of the PDP Governors’ Forum and the Kabiru Turaki-led faction within the party to consider aligning with the ADC. According to Okai, the call became necessary in view of the ongoing legal disputes surrounding the PDP’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Okai said: “There is a high probability that all primaries will be concluded before the Supreme Court delivers a final determination. If the convention is eventually nullified, every candidate produced under that structure will be automatically disqualified. Staying in the PDP is a risk no serious politician should take.”
The ADC chieftain described the current situation within the PDP as a major political challenge for members of the party with ambitions ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the ADC was well-positioned to accommodate politicians seeking a new political platform amid the uncertainties within the opposition party.
This comes amid reports that barring any last-minute change, Mohammed and Makinde are likely to quit their PDP membership before April. It has been a tumultuous period for the PDP as its key leaders continue to defect following the protracted leadership tussle bedevilling the opposition platform, especially after Zamfara State governor, Governor Dauda Lawal, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday.
Sources within ADC confirmed that while Mohammed is on his way to join the ruling APC, Makinde has concluded plans to join the ADC. Since the 2023 general elections, no fewer than nine PDP governors have left the party, citing an irreconcilable crisis in the opposition party.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State was the first to dump the party for APC in April 2025. Subsequently, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom joined the ruling party in June 2025, followed by Peter Mbah of Enugu State, who also decamped to the APC in October 2025.
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, joined the APC in November 2025, followed by the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who also defected to the ruling party in December 2025.
In January this year, Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, Agbu Kefas of Taraba State and Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State all dumped the PDP for the ruling party. Only Ademola Adeleke of Osun State defected to the Accord Party in December 2025.
According to the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), up to January 2026, 66 PDP federal lawmakers have defected to APC since the 10th National Assembly began in June 2023. No fewer than 19 senators and 47 House of Representatives members dumped PDP for APC
Politicians planning to defect to another party are under pressure to conclude their plans before April, following the new election timetable recently released by INEC. In the new timetable, INEC fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while governorship and state houses of assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
However, the conduct of party primary elections, including resolution of disputes arising from primaries, will commence on April 23, 2026 and end on May 30, 2026.
Under the revised schedule, political parties are required to submit their membership register to the electoral body between April 1, 2026 and April 21, 2026, in line with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act, 2026. The electoral law requires registers to be submitted “not later than 21 days before the conduct of party primaries.”
Similarly, political parties must conduct their primaries by May 30, 2026, to enable them to “democratically nominate candidates for the election as required by Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026,” said INEC.
Fear of PDP 2027 election boycott heightens
Indication has also emerged that PDP may not participate in the 2027 presidential election owing to the unending leadership tussle. A chieftain of the party, Omenka Thomas, said the litigation over the validity of the Ibadan convention will not be concluded before the presidential primary election.
According to him, “Primary election is already at the corner and we don’t even know what the appeal court will decide on the matter yet. Now, any of the factions that elect a candidate during the primary, you don’t know what the court ruling will be, so nobody wants to waste their time and resources.
“We thought before now, the Appeal Court must have ruled on the matter then, before June to July, the Supreme Court will also give a final verdict, but the appeal only released its decision yesterday. APC knows what they are doing. They brought forward the date for primary elections, knowing the case PDP has in court. The FCT Minister does not want the party to have a candidate in 2027 and the whole things are playing out the way he wants”, he said.
But commenting on the development, stakeholders, including Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the Southwest Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, Sanya Atofarati, and a legal practitioner, Jibrin S. Jibrin, have said there was still hope for the party to reinvent itself and be able to field candidates for the 2027 poll.
While contending that the Court of Appeal judgment has created a fresh opportunity for internal reconciliation within the party, Atofarati noted that the ruling effectively nullified the Ibadan National Convention and also failed to recognise the national caretaker committee aligned with the faction loyal to Nyesom Wike.
Speaking to The Guardian over the telephone, the PDP spokesman said the judgment has paved the way for the party’s PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) to assume a stabilising leadership role in resolving the lingering internal crisis.
He also dismissed fears that the PDP may be unable to field candidates in the 2027 general elections due to its prolonged internal crisis.
There have been growing concerns among party faithful and political observers that the activities of Wike and some of his allies could weaken the party ahead of the polls or even prevent it from presenting a presidential candidate.
However, Atofarati expressed confidence that the party would overcome its internal disagreements and present candidates for all elective positions, including the presidency.
He argued that since both Wike and the embattled National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, have not formally defected from the PDP to the ruling APC, it would be difficult for them to work against the party’s participation in the 2027 elections.
Also, in his reaction, a former presidential candidate of the party, Gbenga Hashim, expressed optimism that the judgment would help bring an end to the protracted internal dispute within the PDP.
Hashim described the crisis as a “family quarrel” that should be resolved in the interest of the party and the country. “This is a family quarrel that must now end at the Appeal Court,” he said.
According to him, leaders across the various factions of the party have already signalled their willingness to reconcile and harmonise their positions through ongoing consultations and negotiations. “Leaders on both sides have agreed in principle to unite and harmonise positions in all the talks and negotiations we have heard,” Hashim said.
Nonetheless, Jibrin said the Court of Appeal’s judgment reflects internal challenges within the party rather than a final legal barrier to its participation in future elections.
He explained that the judgment highlights the consequences of factional disagreements within the party, noting that several members had taken disputes arising from internal actions and decisions to court. He urged the party’s leadership and stakeholders to resolve their differences to remain competitive.
“The best thing for them is to close ranks, sheathe their swords and adopt the principle of give and take,” he said. He further urged senior figures and party organs to come together to identify the root causes of the disputes that have resulted in multiple litigations.
“With the electoral timetable approaching, it is in their best interest to adopt a conciliatory approach, resolve their issues, and place the party on a clean slate to participate actively in the 2027 elections,” he added.
Failure to do so, he warned, could weaken the party politically and leave it at a disadvantage ahead of the polls.
Wike: Appeal Court judgment provides opportunity for reset
THE FCT Minister, Wike, has said the judgment of the Court of Appeal provides an opportunity for the party to rebuild and restore unity among its members. Wike, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Monday, maintained that the ruling confirmed that the convention conducted by the PDP in November 2025 could not stand because the party failed to comply with statutory provisions guiding such exercises.
“When you do not comply with what the law says, it cannot stand. It does not matter who the chairman is or who is not the chairman. What matters is compliance with the law,” Wike said.
Wike described the development as a significant moment for the party, saying it reaffirmed the supremacy of due process and the rule of law. “Today is one of my happiest days because, as a party that claims to uphold democratic principles, we must not condone impunity. We must follow due process and allow the rule of law to prevail,” he said.
The FCT minister urged members of the PDP to use the judgment as an opportunity to rebuild unity within the party rather than prolong internal disputes through legal battles.
“For me, it is an opportunity for the party to come back together. We have fought enough. It is time to drop personal interests and see how we can move the party forward,” he said.
Wike stressed the need for the PDP to remain strong as a credible opposition party in the country. “The PDP remains the only strong opposition party we have. What we should be doing now is to put our house in order so that the party can continue to play its role effectively,” he said.
He further explained that with the court affirming the invalidity of the Ibadan convention, the leadership structure that emerged from the exercise could no longer be recognised.
According to him, the party had already constituted a caretaker arrangement to manage its affairs pending the conduct of a valid national convention.
He disclosed that the PDP leadership is working towards organising a fresh national convention scheduled for March 29 and 30, 2026, where new national officers would be elected in accordance with the law and the party’s constitution.
Wike said the convention would be held at the Velodrome of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, adding that arrangements had already been concluded for the exercise.
The Guardian
