Fresh legal turbulence has struck the Peoples Democratic Party faction aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, as the rival Kabiru Turaki-led faction formally demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission withdraw its recognition of Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s National Secretary, citing a subsisting court judgement affirming his expulsion.
In a formal letter dated April 16, 2026, addressed to INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, senior counsel Abdullahi Ibrahim argued that the commission was constitutionally bound to enforce the decision of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, which dismissed Anyanwu’s legal challenge to his expulsion and upheld the party’s disciplinary action against him.
The lawyers set out the sequence of events in detail. The PDP’s National Disciplinary Committee had in March 2025 recommended Anyanwu’s expulsion for alleged anti-party activities, a decision subsequently accepted and implemented by the party. Anyanwu thereafter approached the FCT High Court seeking to reverse the decision, but the court dismissed his suit on January 12, 2026, holding that it lacked the jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party where due process had been observed.
The legal team stressed that although Anyanwu had filed a Notice of Appeal against the judgement, the appeal did not operate as a stay of execution. The judgement therefore remained valid, binding, and fully enforceable. By that reasoning, the lawyers argued, Anyanwu had ceased to be a member or officer of the PDP and had no legal standing to act on the party’s behalf in any capacity.
Citing Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, the letter reminded INEC that judgements of courts of competent jurisdiction are binding on all authorities and persons throughout the federation and must be enforced without exception. Continued recognition of Anyanwu in his capacity as National Secretary, the lawyers warned, amounted to a breach of INEC’s constitutional duty and an erosion of judicial authority.
The demands put to the commission were specific and sweeping. The Turaki faction asked INEC to expunge all recognition granted to Anyanwu since January 12, 2026, including all correspondences, notices, emails, and documents bearing his signature in that capacity. It further demanded that INEC cease recognising him as National Secretary unless and until an appellate court set aside the judgement, and immediately delist his name from the commission’s official portal.
The letter closed with a warning that failure to comply would leave the party with no option but to initiate contempt proceedings against the INEC Chairman and pursue additional legal remedies to challenge the commission’s conduct. It urged the commission to act with wisdom and avoid the perception that it was actively working to destabilise opposition political parties in Nigeria.
At the time of filing, INEC had not responded to the demands, leaving the matter unresolved and raising the prospect of a direct legal confrontation between one of Nigeria’s oldest political parties and its chief electoral authority.
The development marks the latest chapter in a protracted leadership dispute within the PDP, a crisis centred on the rival factions loyal to Wike and Turaki respectively. The controversy over Anyanwu’s status has run alongside broader disputes surrounding the party’s recent national convention and the emergence of competing leadership structures.
