The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday reserved judgment in the appeal filed by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the nullification of its 2025 national convention.
A five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Lawal Garba, said a date for judgment would be communicated to the parties after counsel concluded the adoption of their final written addresses.
The Turaki-led faction is asking the court to overturn the March 9 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed earlier decisions that voided the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025.
Counsel to the appellants argued that the matter is strictly an internal party affair and therefore not justiciable, insisting that the convention was conducted in line with the party’s constitution and relevant procedures.
However, lower courts had consistently ruled against the faction, nullifying the exercise, restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising its outcome, and making consequential orders affecting control of the party’s national secretariat.
The Court of Appeal had upheld two separate Federal High Court judgments in Abuja, which barred the PDP from proceeding with the convention until full compliance with the Electoral Act and the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
In one of the decisions, Justice James Omotosho held that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses as required by law and its constitution, rendering the planned convention invalid.
In another ruling, Justice Peter Lifu stopped the party from holding the convention until former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, was allowed to participate in the national chairmanship contest, after finding he was improperly excluded.
The suits that triggered the legal battle were filed by aggrieved party members, including executives from Imo, Abia, and the South-South geopolitical zone, deepening the internal leadership crisis now awaiting final resolution at the Supreme Court.
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