By Ayo Kehinde
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged its members to remain calm, declaring that there is “no cause for alarm” following Friday’s judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, which voided the party’s November 15, 2025, National Convention and sacked the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC).
In the judgement delivered by Justice Uche Agomoh, the court barred Turaki and other officials elected at the convention from parading themselves as members of the party’s NWC, declaring the entire convention process illegal, unconstitutional, and null and void.
Justice Agomoh held that the convention was fundamentally flawed, noting that it failed to comply with key provisions of the PDP Constitution, as well as relevant sections of the Electoral Act regulating the conduct of political party conventions.
Consequently, the court ordered that the affairs of the main opposition party be reverted to a Caretaker Committee pending the conduct of a fresh National Convention that must fully comply with the law.
The court specifically recognised and validated the Caretaker Committee, led by Alhaji Abdulrahman, with Senator Samuel Anyanwu, as the only lawful national executive body authorised to administer the affairs of the PDP.
According to the judgement, the caretaker committee is mandated to stabilise the party, manage its day-to-day affairs, and take steps towards organising a new, legally valid National Convention.
The suit was instituted by a faction of the PDP loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, which challenged the legitimacy of the November 2025 convention.
The plaintiffs alleged that the convention was marred by serious irregularities, including the exclusion of key stakeholders, procedural breaches, and the lack of proper accreditation of delegates.
Upholding the claims, the court ruled that the violations were substantial and went to the root of the process, thereby invalidating the convention and all decisions taken at, or arising from, it.
Reacting to the judgement, the PDP said the ruling did not spell doom for the party. In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the party disclosed that it had briefed its lawyers to immediately file an appeal against the judgement.
“We are aware of the judgement of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, delivered this morning, which essentially declined to grant the order of mandamus sought on the ground that doing so would, in the court’s view, amount to sitting on appeal over judgements of courts of coordinate jurisdiction”, the statement said.
The party added that “notwithstanding this judgement, the Kabiru Turaki–led Peoples Democratic Party, which emerged from the Ibadan Convention, remains legally intact and unshaken, as we await the authoritative pronouncement of the appellate courts.”
Reiterating its call for calm, the PDP urged members to remain resolute and committed, stressing that there was “absolutely no cause for alarm” as the party’s REBIRTH movement, according to the statement, “remains firmly on course”.
