The Supreme Court of Nigeria has resolved the lingering leadership dispute within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), nullifying the party’s convention held in Ibadan in November last year.
In its ruling, the apex court also dismissed the emergence of Kabir Turaki as a parallel national chairman, along with other officials produced from that gathering.
A five-member panel upheld the earlier verdict of the Court of Appeal Nigeria in a split 3-2 decision, effectively closing the case.
The judgement strengthens the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, whose camp had conducted a separate convention in March, returning Abdulrahman Mohammed and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Stephen Adah ruled that the Ibadan convention violated existing court orders, rendering its outcomes invalid.
The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise any decisions or leadership claims arising from the voided convention.
The appeal had been filed by the Turaki-led faction, contesting a March 9 judgement delivered in Abuja by the Court of Appeal, which had earlier affirmed a Federal High Court ruling that nullified the Ibadan convention held between November 15 and 16.
