The battle for control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened on Tuesday as allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to nullify the party’s recent national convention in Ibadan.
The faction, led by acting national chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman and national secretary Samuel Anyanwu, is asking the court to declare the November 15–16 convention invalid and to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising its outcomes, including newly elected officers and disciplinary actions.
In case number FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025, the plaintiffs argue that the convention was conducted in defiance of existing judicial rulings. They cite three Federal High Court decisions—the October 31 judgment in Austine Nwachukwu v INEC, the November 11 and 14 rulings in Sule Lamido v PDP, and the May 31, 2023 decision in Nyesom Wike v PDP—which they say undermined the validity of the statutory 21-day notice required for the convention.
Despite these rulings, they claim, party leaders proceeded with the Ibadan gathering, producing new national officers and issuing suspensions and expulsions that disproportionately targeted Wike’s supporters.
EThe dispute has spilled into the PDP’s national secretariat. In an affidavit, Anyanwu alleged that a rival faction attempted on November 18 to forcibly seize control of Wadata Plaza and Legacy House. He further accused security agencies of shutting down the buildings and denying him and Abdulrahman access to their offices, rather than enforcing earlier court orders.
“The premises of the 1st plaintiff have now been sealed, and the 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs denied entry,” the affidavit stated.
The plaintiffs want the court to:
Affirm that INEC, the police, and the DSS are bound to enforce prior judgments.
Stop any institution from recognising the Ibadan convention.
Direct security agencies to restore their access to party offices.
Clarify whether any authority can lawfully validate the convention while judgments remain pending.
The case has yet to be assigned to a judge, leaving the PDP’s leadership tussle unresolved but firmly in the judicial arena.
