Supreme Court upholds cancellation of Ibadan convention as Wike, Makinde factions claim PDP ownership

Ebun Emmanuel – April 30,2026

The Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025.

In a split judgment delivered by a five-member panel of the apex court, three justices held that the appeal filed by a faction of the party led by former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), lacked merit and affirmed the concurrent decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal nullifying the convention.

Justice Stephen Adah, who delivered the lead judgment in appeal number SC/CV/164/2026, held that the appellants acted in flagrant disobedience of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court restraining them from proceeding with the planned convention pending compliance with earlier directives of the court.

“The disobedience of the court order is not disputed,” Justice Adah held, adding that what transpired amounted to “a threat to the administration of justice in Nigeria.”

The apex court consequently dismissed both the appeal and cross-appeals and ordered parties to bear their respective costs.

The Supreme Court strongly condemned what it described as a deliberate attempt by political actors to undermine judicial authority by securing conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction.

Justice Adah warned that continued disregard for judicial orders by politicians posed grave dangers to constitutional democracy and the rule of law.

Meanwhile, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the Thursday judgment of the Supreme Court has resolved the lingering leadership dispute within the Peoples Democratic Party, insisting that the party remains united.

Addressing journalists at his residence in Abuja on Thursday, Wike maintained that the court’s decision has brought clarity to the situation.

“The PDP is one. The judgment has put to rest reactions of factions within the party,” he said.

However, the former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN) camp said that the Peoples Democratic Party is currently without a defined leadership following the ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, adding that the party’s constitutional organs will swiftly step in to rescue the situation and reconstitute its leadership.

Turaki’s camp’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, who stated this in a statement on Thursday, claimed that the split judgment also upheld the Court of Appeal’s suspension of Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and others.