The Supreme Court of Nigeria in a ruling delivered on Thursday, April 30, 2026 has nullified the controversial national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025.
The apex court’s decision effectively dismantles the factional national executive committee that emerged from the gathering, led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
The Ibadan convention had been mired in legal controversy from the outset. It proceeded despite a subsisting order from a Federal High Court restraining the party from holding the event. The lower court had cited clear breaches of the PDP’s constitution, failure to observe due process, unresolved disputes from state congresses, and the exclusion of certain aspirants, which rendered the exercise defective.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the Federal High Court’s decision, affirming that the convention was conducted in violation of valid judicial pronouncements and that its outcomes could not stand.
Dissatisfied with the concurrent judgments of the two lower courts, the Turaki-led faction approached the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the rulings and legitimise both the convention and the executives it produced.
In its final verdict, the Supreme Court voided the Ibadan convention, thereby affirming the earlier judgments and bringing to a close the protracted legal battle over the legitimacy of the factional leadership.
The ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for the PDP’s internal leadership crisis and the party’s overall stability as it navigates its affairs ahead of future political engagements.
The decision leaves the Turaki-led faction without the legal backing it had fought to secure, while reinforcing the authority of court orders in the conduct of internal party affairs in Nigeria’s democracy.
This latest development adds another chapter to the long-running leadership tussles that have plagued Nigeria’s main opposition party in recent years.
