The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has described the Federal High Court judgment delivered in Ibadan as an academic exercise, urging the Court of Appeal to consolidate all pending party-related cases to produce a single binding judgment for all parties.
At a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Turaki said the NWC has filed a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for Stay of Execution and will pursue the matter to its legal conclusion.
Previously, the Federal High Court in Ibadan voided the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15, 2025, and directed Turaki (SAN) and others to stop holding themselves out as national officers of the party.
Before the ruling, PDP governors had backed the Ibadan convention that produced Turaki and other NWC members for a four-year tenure. However, the FCT Minister and his allies, Abdulrahman and Anyanwu, insisted they were still serving as Acting National Chairman and Acting National Secretary.
Though governors supervised a transition from former Chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki before Damagum’s tenure expired on December 9, the Wike-aligned bloc set up a 13-member caretaker committee on December 8, naming Mohammed, Anyanwu, and others with a 60-day mandate.
Both the governors’ camp and the Wike-aligned faction subsequently sought recognition from INEC, which declined to acknowledge either side, leading to multiple court cases ahead of the 2027 elections. Reacting to the ruling, the Turaki-led PDP NWC, through its Publicity Secretary Ememobong, said its lawyers had been directed to file an immediate appeal and pursue all legal remedies.
The Wike-backed faction, on its part, welcomed the judgment that restrained Turaki and others from acting as the party’s National Working Committee.
In his reaction, Turaki explained that they went to court to seek an order of mandamus directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the Ibadan Convention and enable official party communications with the Commission.
He added that during the proceedings, the Mohammed and Anyanwu Caretaker Committee applied to be joined in the case, were admitted by the court, and filed processes asking that the requested orders should not be granted.
Turaki continued, “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.
