UPDATED: Supreme Court verdict: PDP stakeholders call for calm as Wabara-led BoT announces take-over of PDP leadership

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a fresh turn on Thursday following the Supreme Court judgment nullifying the party’s November 2025 National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Following the verdict, a stakeholders’ group of the party urged members across the country to remain calm, even as the Sen. Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) announced that it had assumed control of the party to prevent a leadership vacuum.

The National Secretary of the PDP BoT and former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, disclosed this after an emergency expanded stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.

Aliyu said the party had accepted the decision of the apex court, which dismissed the appeal filed by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction and nullified the November 2025 elective national convention.

According to him, the implication of the judgment is that the party has been left without a valid National Working Committee (NWC), thereby requiring the BoT to step in as provided by the PDP Constitution.

“The meeting has confirmed what our Constitution has provided — that in a situation where a judgment leaves us without an NWC, the BoT must take over. The BoT has taken over the affairs of the PDP.

“The Chairman of the BoT, Sen. Adolphus Wabara, has assumed control to ensure the party is not left leaderless and rudderless,” Aliyu said.

He added that the judgment also addressed the cross-appeal by the camp of Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, effectively affirming the suspension of some officials, including Anyanwu and Kamaldeen Ajibade.

Aliyu said the interpretation of the verdict was that both groups previously laying claim to the leadership of the party had been divested of authority.

“We cannot, in good conscience, allow the party to become leaderless. We are very happy that the Supreme Court has come clearly on this matter,” he said.

In a separate statement issued in Abuja, the Wabara-led BoT said it had assumed responsibility for the national leadership of the PDP pursuant to the provisions of the party’s Constitution as amended in 2017.

The BoT said although it regretted what it described as an “unpleasant judgment” against the party, the decision of the Supreme Court had invalidated the November 2025 Ibadan convention, which produced the Tanimu Turaki-led NWC.

It added that the apex court also upheld the suspension of Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary, Umar Bature as National Organising Secretary and Kamaldeen Ajibade as National Legal Adviser.

According to the BoT, all actions allegedly taken by Anyanwu, Bature and Ajibade, including the appointment of Abdulrahman Mohammed as acting National Chairman, the composition of the National Caretaker Working Committee and the conduct of the March 29 national convention in Abuja, were illegal, null and void.

“The consequential invalidation of both the Mohammed-led as well as the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led working committees directly places the statutory onus of leadership of our great party on the shoulders of the BoT as the Second Highest Organ of the party.

“Against this backdrop, the BoT hereby immediately assumes responsibility of the national working leadership of the PDP as immediate constitutional remedial steps to foster genuine reconciliation, salvage, stabilise and return the party to good political health,” the statement said.

The Wabara-led BoT said an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) would be summoned in line with Section 31 of the PDP Constitution to appoint an interim NWC that would take charge of the party’s national secretariat and pilot its affairs.

It said the step was necessary to ensure that the party meets all timelines under the Electoral Act, 2026, fields candidates and positions itself to win elective offices in the 2027 general elections.

The BoT also directed all staff of the PDP to resume at the party’s national secretariat under its leadership, pending the appointment of an interim NWC.

It commended Governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, as well as other leaders and organs of the party, for what it described as their courage and resilience during the crisis.

The board called on members to set aside personal and group interests and embrace genuine reconciliation in the overall interest of the party and democracy.

“PDP has suffered enough; the painful victims of this unfortunate episode are the Nigerian people.

“The time has therefore come for us to make sacrifices, sheathe our swords and embrace genuine reconciliation for lasting peace and chart a new course for our party,” the statement added.

Aliyu also said the party would prioritise reconciliation and urged those who had left the PDP to return.

He assured Nigerians that the PDP would continue to function as a vibrant opposition and would not become an appendage of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We are the PDP. We know that democracy thrives when there is a vibrant and capable opposition. We will do our best to ensure the party not only survives but presents candidates for the 2027 elections,” he said.

He disclosed that the BoT would meet on Sunday, while the NEC would meet on Monday to chart a new course and announce an action plan.

Asked whether the party would immediately move its operations back to its Wadata Plaza national headquarters, Aliyu said the leadership would follow due process and avoid actions that could worsen the crisis.

“We are not going to start fighting people. We want to reconcile with everybody. We are a family. We will follow the processes to ensure that the PDP stands as one party,” he said.

He added that the party would review all pending lower court cases in light of the Supreme Court judgment to determine whether to withdraw them or take further legal steps.

However, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike-backed BoT, disagreed with the position of the Wabara-led group.

In a separate statement, the Chairman of the Wike-backed BoT, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa, said the Supreme Court judgment only affirmed earlier decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal nullifying the Ibadan convention.

Ohuabunwa said the legal implication was that the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led NWC remained the valid leadership structure of the party.

“Consequently, the legal position remains clear and unambiguous: the said Ibadan convention stands nullified, and any structure emanating therefrom has no legal foundation.

“Accordingly, the leadership structure of the party under Mohammed as National Chairman and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary remains the valid and stabilising authority to guide the affairs of the party at the national level,” he said.

He said the party remained functional and would continue to operate through its recognised organs in line with the PDP Constitution.

Ohuabunwa also called on party members to remain focused, united and committed, while advising the NWC to immediately constitute a National Reconciliation Committee to reach out to aggrieved members across the country.

“This is a moment for discipline, loyalty and collective commitment to the ideals and future of the party,” he said.

The emergency stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja was attended by PDP governors, BoT members, NEC members, members of the National Assembly Caucus and state chairmen.

Supreme Court judgment has restored unity to PDP – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Thursday declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged united and free of internal factions following the Supreme Court judgment.

Wike during a news conference in Abuja, said the apex court judgment finally laid to rest all disputes over parallel leadership structures within the party.

He dismissed insinuation that the Supreme Court affirmed the suspension of the PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, saying there was no such issue for determination before the court.

“Today, the Supreme Court has brought to an end the so-called factions of the PDP.

” There is no more faction in the party. There is only one PDP,” he said.

The minister explained that the court dismissed appeals challenging earlier judgments from lower courts, thereby upholding the legitimacy of the party’s convention and its current leadership.

According to him, attempts by aggrieved groups to overturn the outcome of the convention failed at all judicial levels.

“The Supreme Court has validated our convention and set aside all claims to any parallel structure.

“What this means is that the PDP has come to stay as one united party,” Wike stated.

He stressed the need for political actors to operate strictly within the framework of the law, warning against actions capable of undermining party constitutions and electoral regulations.

“The fact that you are in a position does not mean you can act outside the law. There are rules guiding party activities, and those rules must be followed,” he added.

Wike also dismissed the relevance of some defectors who exited the party during the crisis, describing them as politically insignificant, while leaving the door open for others to return.

“Those who left are not electoral assets; they are liabilities. However, those who left out of uncertainty may reconsider and return now that the situation is clear,” he said.

On ongoing coalition talks among opposition figures, the minister ruled out participation in alliances that lack clear national interest or constructive engagement.

“We do not believe in opposition for opposition’s sake. Our approach is constructive, not destructive,” he said.

He further noted that recent judicial pronouncements in political matters reinforce the need for due process, urging aggrieved parties to always seek redress through the courts.

Wike maintained that the PDP remains Nigeria’s foremost opposition platform, expressing confidence in its readiness to provide credible alternatives in the country’s democratic process.

“The PDP is stable, united and ready to play its role effectively. What has happened today is a victory for the rule of law and internal democracy,” he said.