Supreme Court reserves judgment in PDP leadership dispute

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), deepening uncertainty over the party’s leadership crisis.

A five-member panel led by Justice Lawal Garba announced on Wednesday that a date for the ruling would be communicated to all parties after the adoption of final written addresses.

The Turaki faction is seeking to overturn the March 9 decision of the Court of Appeal, which upheld earlier rulings nullifying the party’s Ibadan national convention held in November 2025.

Before the apex court, the appellants argued that the matter falls within internal party affairs and should not be subject to judicial intervention, insisting that due process was followed in organising the convention.

However, lower courts had consistently ruled against the group, declaring the exercise invalid and restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising its outcome.

The appellate court had affirmed two separate judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which barred the PDP from conducting the convention pending compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act and party regulations.

In one ruling, Justice James Omotosho held that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses, thereby invalidating the planned convention.

Similarly, Justice Peter Lifu restrained the party from proceeding with the exercise until it allowed Sule Lamido to contest the national chairmanship position, after finding he had been unjustly excluded.

The suits were initiated by aggrieved party members, including state executives from Imo, Abia, and the South-South zone, setting off a prolonged legal battle now awaiting final determination by the Supreme Court.

The pending judgment is expected to play a decisive role in resolving the PDP’s leadership tussle and shaping the party’s political direction ahead of the 2027 general elections.