From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has assumed the national leadership of the opposition party, following a landmark Supreme Court judgement that invalidated the party’s 2025 national convention and dissolved the rival leadership structures that emerged from the prolonged internal crisis.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the BoT said it was stepping in to prevent a constitutional vacuum and stabilise the party after the apex court delivered what it described as a far-reaching judgement affecting the party’s leadership architecture.
The BoT said its intervention was in line with the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017), particularly Section 32(5), which empowers the Board as the second-highest organ of the party to take responsibility in extraordinary circumstances threatening the party’s existence and operational continuity.
According to the statement, the Supreme Court invalidated the 15th to 16th November 2025 PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, which produced the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC). The apex court also upheld the suspension of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Hon Umar Bature and Barrister Kamaldeen Ajibade from the party.
The BoT explained that the implication of the judgement was that all actions taken by the suspended officials, including the appointment of Abdulrahman Mohammed as Acting National Chairman, the composition of the National Caretaker Working Committee and the conduct and outcome of the March 29, 2026 convention in Abuja, had become illegal, null and void.
“The consequential invalidation of both the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led as well as the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led Working Committees directly places the statutory onus of leadership of our great party on the shoulders of the Board of Trustees”, the statement read.
The Board said the immediate assumption of leadership was a constitutional remedial measure aimed at salvaging the party from further instability, restoring order and initiating genuine reconciliation among aggrieved members and factions.
It disclosed that an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) would be convened pursuant to Section 31 of the PDP Constitution to appoint an Interim National Working Committee that would manage the affairs of the party pending a fresh convention and reorganisation process.
The BoT added that the proposed interim leadership would ensure compliance with timelines stipulated in the Electoral Act, 2026, while repositioning the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Consequently, all staff of the PDP National Secretariat were directed to resume work immediately under the authority and supervision of the Board of Trustees pending the inauguration of the interim leadership structure.
In what appeared to be a rallying call to party faithful, the BoT praised the resilience and commitment of several PDP stakeholders who stood by the party during the leadership turbulence.
The Board specifically commended Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed; Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde; members of the National Assembly caucus; national ex-officio members; the Forum of PDP State Chairmen; state chapters; youth and women wings; as well as other party organs for their steadfastness during the crisis.
“The PDP has suffered enough”, the statement declared, warning that continued infighting would only weaken the party further and disappoint millions of Nigerians looking to the PDP as a viable democratic alternative.
The BoT urged members to set aside personal ambitions, factional interests and grievances in favour of unity, reconciliation and institutional rebuilding.
“The time has therefore come for us to make sacrifices, sheathe our swords and embrace genuine reconciliation for lasting peace and chart a new course for our party”, the statement added.
