Court sets aside PDP Ibadan convention, Turaki’s faction heads to appeal

A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on Friday set aside the factional Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national convention held in the Oyo State capital in November 2025, declaring the exercise invalid for breaching court orders and internal party procedures.

In its verdict, the court nullified all decisions taken at the convention and restrained individuals elected at the event from presenting themselves as national officers. It also recognised a caretaker leadership arrangement as the lawful structure pending the conduct of a fresh convention.

The court held that unresolved disputes over congresses and delegate selection undermined the legitimacy of the Ibadan gathering.

In a statement issued shortly after the judgment and signed by the faction’s  National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP said it was already  moving to challenge.

“We are aware of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, delivered this morning, which essentially declined to grant the order of mandamus sought on the ground that doing so would, in the court’s view, amount to sitting on appeal over judgments of courts of coordinate jurisdiction,” he said.

Adding, he said, “We have accordingly briefed our lawyers to immediately file an appeal and to take all further legal steps necessary to advance our arguments and firmly protect our position on this matter”.

He claimed  that the Ibadan Convention and the leadership it produced were not affected by the verdict.

“Notwithstanding this judgment, the Kabiru Turaki–led Peoples Democratic Party, which emerged from the Ibadan Convention, remains legally intact and unshaken, as we await the authoritative pronouncement of the appellate courts,” he said.