Politics
Supreme Court reserves judgment on PDP convention appeal
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the nullification of its national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Garba Mohammed, announced on Wednesday that a date for the judgment would be communicated to all parties after counsel adopted their final briefs of argument.
The appeal was instituted by a faction of the party led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN), seeking to overturn the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeal, which voided the convention on grounds of disobedience to a valid court order.
The dispute traces back to a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which restrained the then National Executive Committee led by Ambassador Iliya Damagum from conducting the convention scheduled for November 15 and 16, 2025.
The trial court had ordered that former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, be allowed to purchase nomination forms and participate in the process, citing a violation of the party’s internal rules.
Despite the directive, the PDP went ahead with the convention, arguing that the matter fell within its internal affairs and was outside the jurisdiction of the court.
However, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the party’s position, ruling that the issue was not purely internal and consequently nullified the outcome of the convention.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s verdict, the PDP approached the Supreme Court, urging it to set aside the lower courts’ decisions and affirm that the matter is non-justiciable.
On the other hand, the respondents have asked the apex court to dismiss the appeal, maintaining that the PDP acted in defiance of a subsisting court order.
With judgment now reserved, political observers say the eventual ruling could have far-reaching implications for the party’s leadership structure and its preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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