Just In: PDP Crisis Deepens As BoT Assumes Control After Supreme Court Voids Convention, NWC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been plunged into a leadership vacuum following a seismic Supreme Court ruling today, forcing the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) to invoke emergency powers and take over national operations.

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has assumed control of the party’s national leadership following a Supreme Court judgment that nullified its November 2025 national convention.

In a press release issued on Thursday by the Chairman of the PDP BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the BoT said its decision was based on its constitutional responsibility to prevent a leadership vacuum after the apex court invalidated the 15th–16th November 2025 convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, which produced the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC).

According to the BoT, the implication of the judgment is far-reaching, rendering all actions taken by the affected officials invalid. This includes the appointment of Abdulrahman Mohammed as Acting National Chairman, the constitution of the National Caretaker Working Committee, and the conduct and outcome of the party’s March 29, 2026 convention in Abuja.

“The implication of today’s judgment by the Supreme Court is that all actions taken by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Hon. Umar Bature and Barr. Kamaldeen Ajibade… are illegal, null and ab initio void,” the statement read.

The BoT said the invalidation of both the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led and the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led working committees places the responsibility of leading the party squarely on it, as the second highest organ of the PDP, in line with Section 32(5) of the party’s constitution.

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BoT Invokes Section 32(5)

Faced with what they described as an "unpleasant judgment," the BoT, led by Senator Adolphus Wabara, announced they are stepping in as the "statutory onus of leadership."

Citing Section 32(5) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017), the BoT has assumed the role of the national leadership to prevent a total collapse of the party machinery.

"The BoT immediately assumes responsibility... as constitutional remedial steps to foster genuine reconciliation, salvage, stabilize and return the party to good political health," the Board stated in an official release.

The Roadmap to 2027

To navigate this crisis, the BoT has outlined an immediate rescue plan:

1. Staff Recall: All PDP National Secretariat staff have been directed to resume duties immediately under BoT supervision.

2. Emergency NEC Meeting: A meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) will be summoned shortly to appoint an Interim National Working Committee.

3. Election Readiness: The interim body will be tasked with meeting the strict timelines of the Electoral Act 2026 to ensure the party can field candidates for the 2027 general elections.

   
   

A Plea for Peace

The BoT Chairman commended the resilience of the PDP Governors’ Forum—specifically mentioning Governors Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde—alongside the National Assembly caucus.

In a sobering conclusion, Senator Wabara urged members to "sheathe their swords," noting that the Nigerian people are the primary victims of the party’s internal strife. "The PDP has suffered enough," he said, calling for a "new course" centered on sacrifice and genuine reconciliation.

Reracting to Thursday's court Judgement, he Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has emerged united and free of internal factions following a decisive ruling by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Speaking at a press conference at his residence in Guzape, Abuja, Wike said the apex court judgment has finally laid to rest all disputes over parallel leadership structures within the party.

He dismissed insinuation that the Supreme Court affirmed the suspension of the PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, saying there was no such issue for determination before the court.

“Today, the Supreme Court has brought to an end the so-called factions of the PDP. There is no more faction in the party. There is only one PDP,” he said.

The minister explained that the court dismissed appeals challenging earlier judgments from lower courts, thereby upholding the legitimacy of the party’s convention and its current leadership.

According to him, attempts by aggrieved groups to overturn the outcome of the convention failed at all judicial levels.