Turaki-Led PDP Faults Court Nullification of National Convention, Heads to Appeal

The Kabiru Turaki–led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party has rejected a Federal High Court ruling that invalidated its recently held national convention in Ibadan and has formally moved to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.

In a statement responding to the decision handed down on Friday by Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, the PDP’s National Working Committee faulted the judgement that nullified the party’s November 15, 2025 national convention and barred its elected leadership from acting as the party’s national officers.

The judge had ruled that the convention was conducted in “flagrant disregard of court orders” and held that the party must operate through its caretaker committee until a valid convention is convened.

Kabiru Turaki, SAN, and his leadership team described the ruling as flawed, asserting that the court went beyond the reliefs sought and issued orders that were neither requested nor canvassed by the party during the proceedings.

“However, and most respectfully, the court proceeded suo motu to grant reliefs that were neither prayed for nor canvassed by any of the parties. More importantly, the judgment is in material conflict with subsisting orders and previous judgments of courts of coordinate jurisdiction,” Turaki said, framing the decision as legally unsound and inconsistent with other judicial determinations.

To protect the faction’s claim to leadership and defend the outcome of the Ibadan convention, the party has filed a notice of appeal and a motion for stay of execution of the High Court ruling.

“We are determined to pursue this matter diligently and to its logical conclusion in accordance with the law,” Turaki said, signalling that the dispute will now be fought in the appellate courts.

The national working committee also noted that the issues surrounding the convention had already been the subject of multiple court actions, and that the core legal questions are “already before the Court of Appeal,” which the party believes will offer a definitive resolution.

In that sense, he argued, the Ibadan High Court’s judgement remains “technically… academic, pending the authoritative pronouncement of the appellate courts.”

The dispute stems from a split within the PDP that has seen competing factions claim legitimacy, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) earlier declining to recognise the Turaki-led leadership due to ongoing court judgments affecting the party’s internal processes.