By SCM Correspondent
ABUJA — A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday struck out a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize and publish the names of the Kabiru Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, the presiding judge, Justice Salim Ibrahim, held that the plaintiffs lacked the requisite locus standi (legal standing) to institute the action. Consequently, the court struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
The court upheld the preliminary objection filed by INEC and sustained similar objections raised by pro-Wike rival factional stakeholders seeking to protect their interests within the party.
Justice Ibrahim ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish that INEC had a statutory obligation to recognize a purported “interim” body not recognized under the guidelines, nor did they prove their absolute authority to sue on behalf of the entire PDP.
The Plaintifffs’ Demands
The legal action was spearheaded by top chieftains loyal to the Turaki faction, including the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; BoT Secretary, Muazu Babangida Aliyu; former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; and Chief Olabode George.
The prominent elders had approached the court praying for:
An order compelling INEC to publish the Kabiru Turaki (SAN)-led interim NWC on its official website.
An order directing the electoral umpire to update its records and grant the faction official portal access codes for candidate uploads.
A declaration that the names forwarded to INEC in a letter dated May 4 remain the legitimate leadership of the opposition party.
However, the defense argued that a political party cannot be run by parallel interim structures outside the statutory framework acknowledged by the electoral umpire.
To understand Friday’s ruling, it is essential to trace the deep-seated structural fractures threatening to sink Nigeria’s main opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The PDP has been split cleanly down the middle into two major warring factions:
The Turaki Faction: Backed by the Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) and governors like Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
The Wike Faction: Loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, which aligns with a separate caretaker committee structure recognized by INEC.
The root of the current litigation stems from the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025. Supported heavily by Governor Seyi Makinde, that convention produced the leadership under Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
However, the legal foundation of that convention was fiercely challenged in court by the rival Wike-backed bloc. On April 30, the Supreme Court delivered a crushing 3–2 split judgment that nullified the Ibadan convention entirely.
The apex court barred INEC from recognizing any executive that emerged from that irregular gathering.
Defying the apex court’s disruption, Senator Wabara’s BoT quickly reconstituted the displaced executives into an “Interim National Working Committee,” retaining Turaki as the chairman.
They argued that an interim structure was necessary to prevent a leadership vacuum and oversee the party’s upcoming primaries.
While the Turaki group went ahead to establish a parallel national secretariat and distribute nomination forms to prospective aspirants, INEC refused to grant them the critical portal access codes required to validate candidates for general elections.
Instead, INEC recognized the caretaker structure linked to the Wike camp, precipitating this latest lawsuit.
With the High Court’s refusal to interfere with INEC’s administrative discretion, the Turaki-led faction faces a steep uphill climb in its battle for the soul and structure of the PDP.
