Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) on Thursday, invalidated the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, deepening the leadership crisis rocking Nigeria’s main opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a split judgment delivered by a five-member panel of the apex court, three justices held that the appeal filed by a faction of the party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki SAN, lacked merit and affirmed the concurrent decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal nullifying the convention.
The lead judgment delivered by Justice Stephen Adah, in appeal number SC/CV/164/2026, held that the appellants acted in flagrant disobedience of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court restraining them from proceeding with the planned convention pending compliance with earlier directives of the court.
“The disobedience of the court order is not disputed,” Justice Adah held, adding that what transpired amounted to “a threat to the administration of justice in Nigeria.”
The Supreme court consequently dismissed both the appeal and cross-appeals and ordered parties to bear their respective costs.
The dispute arose from the controversial Ibadan convention organised by the Turaki-led faction of the PDP despite pending court orders and unresolved disputes over congresses conducted in several states.
Aggrieved party members had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, arguing that the organisers failed to comply with statutory requirements under the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution before proceeding with the convention.
The trial court subsequently restrained the party from holding the convention pending compliance with its directives.
Despite the order, the convention went ahead in Ibadan and produced a factional leadership structure, triggering fresh litigation and accusations of forum shopping within the party.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court strongly condemned what it described as a deliberate attempt by political actors to undermine judicial authority by securing conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
However, dissenting opinions by Justice Haruna Tsammani and Justice Abubakar Umar argued that the appeals arose from the internal affairs of the PDP and were therefore non-justiciable.
Since the Supreme court consequently dismissed both the appeal and cross-appeals and ordered parties to bear their respective costs, could that mean that the suspension of Ajibade SAN, Anyanwu and others remain valid?
After the judgment, Mr Ememobong said the judgment has effectively left the PDP without a clearly defined leadership structure.
“With this split judgment, which also upheld the Court of Appeal’s suspension of Ajibade, SAN, Anyanwu, and others, this effectively leaves the PDP as a party without a defined leadership.
“To this end, we are certain that the existing organs of the party will take the necessary steps to salvage the party and confer leadership on it going forward,” he said.
The judgement appears to effectively strengthen the rival faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in the ongoing leadership struggle, by not saying anything about its March 2026 convention.
The Wike-backed faction held its own convention in March, electing Abdulrahman Mohammed and others as substantive members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
But if Anyanwu was in suspension at the time they did the convention, all the steps he took leading to the convention and the convention itself may not be valid.