PDP Crisis: INEC snubs Turaki-led excos as Wike camp claims victory

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), a decision that has widened the party’s internal rift and triggered jubilation in the camp loyal to former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike.

INEC based its decision on subsisting court judgments and unresolved legal processes surrounding the party’s disputed national convention, effectively denying official recognition to the leadership that emerged from the Ibadan convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025.

While the Turaki camp expressed outrage and accused the electoral umpire of bias, the Wike-aligned faction hailed the move as a vindication of its long-held position that the Ibadan convention was illegal and could not produce a valid party leadership.

In a letter dated December 22 and addressed to the lawyers of the Turaki-led NWC, Akintayo Balogun & Co, INEC said it could not recognise or update the list of PDP national officers purportedly elected at the November convention.

The letter, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Dr Rose Oriaran-Anthony, cited two subsisting final judgments of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, which restrained INEC from supervising, recognising or accepting the outcome of the PDP national convention.

The judgments referenced are Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025, Austine Nwachukwu & 2 Ors. v. INEC & 8 Ors., delivered on October 31, 2025, and Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025, Alhaji Sule Lamido v. PDP & 4 Ors., delivered on November 14, 2025.

INEC noted that although appeals had been filed against the judgments, the law was clear that the filing of an appeal did not amount to a stay of execution.

“Until the said judgments are set aside or stayed by a competent court, the commission remains bound to obey and give full effect to them, in line with Section 287(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” the commission stated.

The commission also dismissed reliance on interim orders issued by the High Court of Oyo State, stressing that such orders could not override existing final judgments of courts of equal or superior jurisdiction. It further pointed to pending suits, including one instituted by the PDP itself seeking to compel INEC to recognise the Turaki-led NWC, describing the request as prejudiced.

“In the circumstances, and in obedience to the rule of law and subsisting court orders, the commission is unable to accede to the demand to recognise or update the list of the national officers said to have emerged from the PDP National Convention of November 15–16, 2025,” INEC said.

The decision comes amid an intense power struggle within the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections. PDP governors had endorsed the Ibadan convention and facilitated a handover from former acting national chairman, Umar Damagum, to Turaki, even before Damagum’s tenure officially ended on December 9.

However, Wike and his allies, including Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Mohammed Abdulrahman, rejected the process, insisting they remained the acting national chairman and acting national secretary respectively. On December 8, the Wike-aligned camp announced a 60-day caretaker committee, further deepening the crisis.

Reacting to INEC’s decision, the Turaki-led NWC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, insisted that the party had no factions and accused the electoral umpire of acting under undue influence.

Ememobong said the judgments cited by INEC had been appealed and that applications for stay of execution were before the Court of Appeal, which was expected to hear the cases soon. He also alleged that INEC had monitored PDP National Executive Committee meetings and party primaries conducted under the authority of the Turaki-led NWC, facts he claimed the commission suppressed in court.

“INEC has continuously shown bias in this matter, even in court, where it failed or refused to file documents that were in its possession, obviously to aid those bent on killing the PDP and truncating democracy,” he said.

He maintained that the Turaki-led NWC enjoyed the backing of the party’s major organs, including the Board of Trustees, Governors’ Forum, National Assembly caucuses, state chairmen and other stakeholders.

In sharp contrast, the Wike camp welcomed INEC’s stance. Senator Anyanwu, the National Secretary of the Wike-backed caretaker committee, described the decision as a triumph of the rule of law.

“This is a welcome development. INEC deserves commendation for respecting the law and court judgments. The Ibadan gathering cannot and should not be acceptable by any legal entity,” he said.