By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
THE internal turmoil within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a sharper turn as the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court, seeking to invalidate the party’s recently concluded national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, was instituted by the PDP, Acting National Chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu—figures aligned with the Wike bloc. They are asking the court to declare the 15–16 November Ibadan convention and all resolutions arising from it as “null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.”
At the convention, mainstream PDP leaders announced the expulsion of Wike, Anyanwu, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, and eight others—an action that immediately inflamed the party’s already fragile unity. The gathering also produced a new leadership line-up, including Umar Damagum and Kabiru Turaki, who many PDP stakeholders now recognise as national chairman and principal officers.
However, the Wike faction argues that the Ibadan meeting breached three existing judgments of the Federal High Court:
Austine Nwachukwu v INEC & Ors (31 October),
Sule Lamido v PDP & Ors (11 and 14 November), and
Nyesom Wike v PDP & Ors (31 May 2023).
The plaintiffs insist that these rulings invalidated the mandatory 21-day notice for convening a national convention and expressly restrained the PDP from proceeding with the exercise.
According to them, despite the binding orders, the defendants “organised themselves and their cohorts” to convene the Ibadan convention, “purportedly elected national officers,” and issued suspensions and expulsions targeting key figures in the party.
In his supporting affidavit, Anyanwu alleged that on 18 November, the opposing faction attempted to forcibly seize the party’s national secretariat at Wadata Plaza and Legacy House. Rather than enforcing earlier court orders, he claimed, police and DSS operatives “sealed up the buildings” and prevented legitimate officials from gaining access.
The faction is therefore asking the court to restrain INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, the FCT Commissioner of Police, and the DSS from recognising the Ibadan convention or its outcomes. They also seek orders stopping the newly announced officers from parading themselves as PDP leaders, as well as directives compelling security agencies to grant the plaintiffs unhindered access to the party’s two Abuja secretariat buildings.
Additionally, they request a declaration that INEC cannot accept any change of address or headquarters for the PDP outside its recognised Abuja locations. The suit further asks the court to determine whether any authority can lawfully validate the Ibadan convention in view of the existing judgments, the PDP constitution, and the Electoral Act.
As at the time of filing, the case had not been assigned to a judge, and no hearing date had been fixed. Analysts say the development could deepen the already intense struggle for control of the party’s national machinery, with both camps refusing to back down.
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