The leadership crisis within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party has taken a fresh legal dimension as prominent party stakeholders, led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, have instituted a suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking official recognition of the party’s interim National Working Committee (NWC).
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was initiated by Wabara alongside former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Jerry Gana, PDP Board of Trustees member Bode George and other party leaders.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to compel INEC to update its records and publish on its official platform the names of members of the interim NWC headed by former Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki, which they said was duly constituted and communicated to the electoral body through letters dated May 4.
The legal action comes on the heels of a recent judgment by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which nullified key aspects of a Federal High Court ruling delivered in Ibadan that had recognised a factional caretaker committee aligned with former National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu.
In its June 3 judgment, the appellate court held that the lower court exceeded its jurisdiction by granting reliefs that were not sought by any of the parties in the suit. The judgment effectively set aside the recognition earlier granted to the caretaker committee led by Abdurahman Mohammed and backed by the Anyanwu faction.
In the fresh suit, the PDP BoT leaders argued that INEC is constitutionally bound to comply with subsisting judgments of the courts, including decisions of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which they claimed validated the suspension of key party officers and nullified the party’s November 2025 national convention.
According to an affidavit deposed to by Aliyu, the PDP National Working Committee had, on November 1, 2025, suspended Anyanwu and three other national officers over allegations of gross misconduct, anti-party activities and insubordination.
Aliyu stated that the suspensions were later upheld by appellate courts, while subsequent Supreme Court judgments delivered on April 30, 2026, affirmed decisions nullifying the PDP national convention conducted on November 15 and 16, 2025.
He argued that the nullification of the convention and the suspension of key officers created a leadership vacuum within the party, prompting the Board of Trustees and the National Executive Committee to establish an interim NWC to oversee party affairs pending a fresh convention.
The plaintiffs further contended that despite receiving official communications notifying it of the interim leadership structure, INEC had failed to update its records or accord recognition to the Turaki-led committee.
They described the commission’s refusal as a violation of the rule of law and urged the court to direct INEC to recognise all communications and notices emanating from the interim NWC as the legitimate leadership of the party.
The case is expected to further shape the battle for control of the PDP ahead of future electoral activities, as rival factions continue to contest the party’s leadership structure through the courts.
