By Stephen Simon
A fresh legal battle has erupted within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as key leaders of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) have dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over the recognition of the party’s leadership structure.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, was instituted by the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led BoT alongside the PDP, seeking an order compelling INEC to recognise and publish the party’s interim National Working Committee (NWC) on its official records.
Among the plaintiffs are former Senate President Wabara, former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, and PDP chieftain Chief Olabode George. The electoral commission is the sole defendant in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to direct INEC to update its records and recognise the interim NWC led by former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, whose names were reportedly forwarded to the commission through letters dated May 4.
The legal action comes on the heels of a recent Court of Appeal judgment which set aside key aspects of an earlier Federal High Court ruling in Ibadan that had recognised a rival factional caretaker committee within the opposition party. The appellate court held that the lower court granted reliefs that were not sought by any of the parties before it.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Aliyu contended that several PDP officials, including former National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, were suspended by the party over alleged misconduct, anti-party activities and insubordination. He maintained that subsequent court decisions affirmed those suspensions and created vacancies within the party’s leadership structure.
The plaintiffs further argued that the BoT and the National Executive Committee subsequently constituted an interim NWC to oversee the affairs of the party pending the conduct of a valid national convention. They alleged that despite being formally notified, INEC had failed to accord recognition to the interim leadership.
The BoT leaders are therefore asking the court to compel INEC to accept all official communications from the interim NWC and give effect to what they describe as subsisting judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The latest suit is expected to further deepen the PDP leadership crisis as the opposition party continues efforts to rebuild ahead of future electoral contests.
