Supreme Court PDP Crisis Appeal set for April 22, 2026 as Nigeria’s apex court fast-tracks hearing on PDP leadership dispute
The Supreme Court of Nigeria, led by a five-member panel presided over by Justice Lawal Garba in Abuja for the hearing of two major appeals filed by the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a renewed bid to regain control of the opposition party amid escalating internal conflict.
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The decision follows a series of legal setbacks suffered by the Turaki-led faction at lower courts, which had previously invalidated the PDP’s Ibadan National Convention held in November 2025 and restricted the faction’s access to the party’s national secretariat.
In a significant procedural development, the apex court granted an accelerated hearing application filed by the Turaki group, describing the matter as one requiring urgent attention due to its political and constitutional implications ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The court consequently reduced filing timelines for all parties, directing respondents to submit their briefs within five days, a sharp departure from the usual timeframe, in order to preserve the scheduled hearing date.
The first appeal challenges a rival faction of the PDP aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike. During proceedings, the Supreme Court ordered that hearing notices be served on Mohammed Abdulrahman, a key respondent who was absent from court.
Lead counsel for the Turaki faction, Chris Uche, argued that judicial intervention was necessary to prevent what he described as the administrative collapse of the party, insisting that the internal dispute threatened the stability of the PDP.
However, counsel to the pro-Wike faction, Emmanuel Ukala, initially requested 15 days to respond, a request the Supreme Court declined, insisting on expedited compliance to maintain the April hearing schedule.
The second appeal involves a separate dispute with former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and other party members, centred on his exclusion from the national chairmanship race, a matter that previously triggered a Federal High Court order seeking to halt the Ibadan Convention.
Lower courts had consistently ruled against the Turaki-led executives, barring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the outcome of the convention and affirming rival control over party structures and assets.
At the core of the Turaki faction’s argument is the position that the dispute remains an internal party matter, insisting that the judiciary should not interfere in the PDP’s internal governance and maintaining that all constitutional procedures were duly followed during the Ibadan Convention.
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The case is widely regarded as a defining moment in the ongoing struggle for control of the PDP, with political observers watching closely as the apex court prepares to deliver what could be a decisive ruling in the protracted leadership crisis.
