The Supreme Court of Nigeria has brought an end to the leadership dispute within the Peoples Democratic Party (Peoples Democratic Party), nullifying the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, and striking out the emergence of the Kabir Turaki-led national working committee.
The apex court delivered its ruling on Thursday in separate judgments on two related appeals involving internal disputes within the opposition party.
One of the appeals was filed by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, who challenged the party’s refusal to issue him a nomination form for a leadership contest, while the second case sought legal recognition of the outcomes of the disputed 2025 Ibadan convention.
In a split decision of 3–2, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court upheld earlier rulings of the Court of Appeal, which had declared the convention invalid due to violation of existing court orders.
The court held that the convention, which produced the Turaki-led faction, was conducted in defiance of a restraining order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Delivering the majority judgment, Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme stated that political parties are bound to obey court orders, regardless of whether they are favourable, and strongly condemned the disregard for judicial authority.
She described the conduct leading to the Ibadan convention as forum shopping and ruled that the exercise was fundamentally flawed, nullifying all outcomes of the convention.
Justices Stephen Adah and Lawal Garba agreed with the majority judgment, reinforcing the position that the convention was conducted in violation of the law.
However, Justices Haruna Tsammani and Abubakar Umar dissented, arguing that the matter was an internal affair of a political party and should not have been subjected to judicial intervention.
The ruling also upheld earlier decisions preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (Independent National Electoral Commission) from recognising the outcomes of the disputed convention.
The judgment effectively strengthens the position of the faction associated with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, which held a separate convention earlier in March that produced its own leadership structure.
The Supreme Court’s decision marks a major turning point in the prolonged crisis within the PDP, which has faced internal divisions, factional struggles, and multiple court battles ahead of the 2027 general elections.
