Breaking: PDP convention: Supreme Court Reserves Judgment In Leadership Dispute Appeal

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment in the high-stakes appeal filed by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) over the disputed 2025 National Convention.

The decision was reached by a five-man panel of the apex court, presided over by Justice Lawal Garba, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, after parties adopted their final written addresses.

It announced that a date for the judgment will be communicated later.

Persecondnews recalls that the Turaki faction is seeking to overturn a March 9, 2026 ruling by the Court of Appeal, which upheld earlier judgments nullifying the PDP convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025.

The faction argued before the court that the convention was an internal party matter and therefore not subject to judicial interference, insisting that due process was followed in conducting the exercise.

The lower courts judgements, delivered separately by Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu, both halted the convention over alleged breaches of the Electoral Act and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) 2022 regulations and guidelines for political parties.

Omotosho had held that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses, which he described as a mandatory requirement before any national convention could be held.

On his part, Justice Lifu restrained the party from proceeding with the convention until it allowed former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, to participate in the national chairmanship contest, following a finding that he was unlawfully excluded.

The rulings followed separate suits filed by aggrieved party stakeholders, including officials from Imo, Abia and the South-South region, who challenged the legality of the exercise.

The dispute has since deepened the leadership crisis within the PDP, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) barred from recognising any outcome of the controversial convention.

The party is currently being run under a caretaker arrangement, while the Supreme Court’s final verdict is expected to determine its leadership structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.