A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to halt the recognition of the party’s national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, and to invalidate all decisions that emerged from the gathering. In a suit seeking urgent judicial intervention, the faction argues that the convention was conducted in open defiance of existing court orders and resulted in an unlawful attempt to seize control of the party’s national leadership and secretariat.
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Filed under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/25012025, the action was instituted by the PDP (as first plaintiff), alongside Mohammed Abdurahma, Acting National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu, National Secretary.
The plaintiffs contend that the Ibadan convention, where Umar Damagum, Kabiru Turaki, and other senior party figures were affirmed as new national officers, was convened in breach of three subsisting Federal High Court judgments, which they say expressly restrained the party from holding any such meeting or altering its leadership structure.
The suit seeks a series of declaratory and injunctive orders, including a ruling that the convention is “null, void and of no effect,” and a directive preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies from recognising the 6th to 25th defendants as legitimate PDP officials. These defendants include Damagum, Turaki, and others who emerged from the Ibadan exercise.
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The Wike-aligned faction further accuses the defendants of orchestrating an “illegal takeover” of the party’s national secretariat and proceeding with leadership changes in disregard of due process. According to the plaintiffs, their legal action aims to restore order within the PDP and ensure compliance with binding judicial directives.
The Federal High Court is expected to fix a hearing date as political tensions within the opposition party continue to escalate.
