Nigeria’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been thrown deeper into a raging leadership crisis as a Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered an accelerated hearing in a high-stakes suit involving its Board of Trustees (BoT) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The case, which is now fast-tracked due to its urgency ahead of the 2027 general elections, was filed by the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led BoT faction, who are asking the court to compel Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to officially recognise a rival interim National Working Committee within the party structure.
Presiding Judge, Justice Salim Ibrahim, granted the accelerated hearing after lawyers representing the plaintiffs argued that INEC’s updated election timetable makes the matter time-sensitive, warning that delays could affect preparations for the 2027 polls.
At the center of the storm is a deep internal battle within the PDP over who has legitimate authority to control the party’s structure. The Wabara-led BoT is pushing for recognition of a Kabir Turaki-led interim leadership, insisting INEC must update its official records and website to reflect the change.
The suit, which lists several prominent PDP figures—including former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, Prof. Jerry Gana, Bode George, and others—claims that INEC is legally bound to obey existing court judgments that, according to them, support the legitimacy of their factional structure.
The plaintiffs are also demanding that INEC officially recognize communications sent by the interim leadership and stop engaging with suspended or expelled officers within the party.
However, the courtroom proceedings quickly turned chaotic as multiple senior lawyers appeared, each claiming authority to represent different factions of the PDP in the same case. One lawyer even attempted to withdraw the party from the suit, arguing that the PDP itself did not authorize the legal action—further exposing the depth of the internal division.
Another faction linked to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, also moved to join the case, insisting their group represents the legitimate leadership of the party. This sparked intense legal confusion as competing applications flooded the courtroom.
