The Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the Kabir/Tanimu Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Justice Salim Ibrahim fixed no date for the judgment after hearing arguments from counsel representing the various parties and applicants seeking to be joined in the case.
The suit was instituted by the PDP Board of Trustees led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, which is asking the court to direct INEC to update its records and officially recognise the Turaki-led interim NWC as the party’s leadership.
During proceedings, counsel for the PDP, Sunday Ameh (SAN), applied to strike out the party’s name as the eighth plaintiff, arguing that the party neither authorised the suit nor engaged lead counsel, Chris Uche (SAN). Ameh also sought leave of the court to effect a change of legal representation.
However, Chris Uche opposed the application, describing it as misconceived and frivolous. He argued that the PDP could not simultaneously act as both a plaintiff and a defendant in the same proceedings.
Also at the hearing, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), representing Mohammed Abdulrahman, Samuel Anyanwu and others aligned with the party’s Wike-backed faction, urged the court to join his clients as interested parties. He argued that they were validly elected during a national convention recognised by INEC.
Responding, Uche described the applicants as “busybodies and meddlesome interlopers,” maintaining that they lacked the legal interest required to participate in the suit. He further argued that under Section 287 of the Constitution, only INEC has the responsibility to enforce court judgments relating to the matter.
Counsel to another set of applicants, Joseph Daudu (SAN), representing Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Abraham Nnanna and Turnah George, also sought joinder as the fifth to seventh defendants. Daudu contended that previous judgments of the Federal High Court in Ibadan and the Supreme Court had conferred vested rights on his clients, making their participation necessary.
After hearing submissions from all parties, Justice Ibrahim reserved ruling on the various joinder applications as well as judgment in the substantive suit.
The case is the latest development in the prolonged leadership crisis within the PDP, where rival factions continue to contest control of the party’s National Working Committee ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Wabara-led Board of Trustees maintains that INEC is legally bound to recognise the Tanimu Turaki-led interim NWC as part of efforts to restore stability within the opposition party.
Other plaintiffs in the suit include Muazu Babangida Aliyu, Jerry Gana, Olabode George, Maryam Ciroma, Zainab Maina and Esther Uduehi, while INEC remains the sole defendant in the matter.
