By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Nyesom Wike-backed faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the judgment of the Oyo State High Court, which upheld the 2025 PDP national convention conducted on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The faction, in a statement issued on Friday, February 27, by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, stressed that the November 2025 convention remains invalid.
PDP caretaker committee led by Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu described the convention as inconsequential and of no binding effect.
It insisted that existing judgments of the Federal High Court had earlier barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from attending or monitoring the exercise, thereby making the Oyo State High Court’s ruling ineffectual on the issue.
The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan had earlier on Friday upheld the convention, which saw the election of a National Working Committee (NWC) led by Tanimu Turaki.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Ladiran Akintola shortly after deciding on an application seeking joinder in the matter.
The court granted all 13 reliefs sought by the claimant, Folahan Malomo Adelabi, through his counsel, Musbau Adetunmbi.
The Wike-backed PDP faction, in reaction to the ruling, stated that the judgment did not bind INEC, describing it as an academic exercise.
The statement read: “The judgment reportedly delivered by the Oyo State High Court is an inconsequential development and is best described as a mere academic exercise.
“It is important to state clearly that the court that delivered today’s judgment was the same court that earlier granted an interim order to Mr Damagum and his co-travellers, permitting them to proceed with their Amala Convention held on the 15th and 16th of November 2025, despite two valid Federal High Court judgments. So, this is not news.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the said judgment does not bind the Independent National Electoral Commission, as INEC was neither joined nor represented as a party in the suit. To say the least, INEC challenged the jurisdiction of the Oyo State High Court, which the court later agreed to in a ruling delivered by the judge, and subsequently struck out the name of INEC.
“A judgment that does not bind INEC is of no consequence whatsoever as far as the issues at stake are concerned. The judgment has no legal effect whatsoever on the conduct, monitoring, or recognition of any party convention purported to have been held on the 15th and 16th of November 2026.
“It bears reiterating that INEC has already complied with two subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which expressly restrained the Commission from attending, monitoring, or recognising the outcome of the purported convention.
“INEC has equally complied with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, which nullified the said convention and restrained Turaki and his associates from parading themselves as leaders of the party.
“In light of the foregoing, the National Caretaker Working Committee of the party wishes to assure loyal party members and the general public that all arrangements towards the conduct of congresses and the National Convention have reached an advanced stage.”
The PDP has been steeped in a leadership crisis, which continues to deepen, resulting in the division of members’ loyalty along factional lines.
Both factions are laying claims to legitimacy in handling the affairs of the party, leading to the filing of cases in various courts.
