2027: Appeal Court Declines to Recognise Wabara-Led PDP BoT

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by the Senator Adolphus Wabara-led Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declining to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the faction’s leadership structure.

In a unanimous decision delivered by a three-member panel on Wednesday, the appellate court upheld the July 17 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed the suit instituted by the Wabara-led group.

The appellate court held that the appellants lacked the legal standing to institute the action on behalf of the PDP, adding that the case was academic and constituted an abuse of court process.

The suit had sought to validate actions taken by the factional National Working Committee (NWC) led by Tanimu Turaki, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), including a national convention at which the faction reportedly adopted former President Goodluck Jonathan as its consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice R. O. Ayoola via Zoom, the court removed the PDP’s name from the list of appellants, holding that the party had not authorised the action.

Having resolved nine issues against the appellants, the court declined to set aside the N70 million costs awarded against them by the lower court.

It also imposed additional costs of N5 million each in favour of the first respondent, the second to fourth respondents jointly, and the fifth to seventh respondents jointly.

“The appeal fails, and the decision of the Federal High Court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, including the order dismissing the originating summons and the orders joining the 2nd to 7th respondents and striking out the 8th plaintiff, is affirmed,” Ayoola said.

The suit was filed by members of the Wabara-led BoT to compel INEC to update its records to recognise the interim NWC led by Turaki and publish the names of its members on the commission’s official website.

The plaintiffs argued that the names of the interim national officers had been forwarded to INEC in letters dated May 4, following decisions of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

Apart from Wabara, the plaintiffs included the faction’s BoT Secretary and former Niger State Governor, Muazu Babangida Aliyu; former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana; and PDP chieftain Olabode George.

Others were former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Maryam Ciroma; former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina; and BoT and NEC member, Dame Esther Uduehi.

The PDP was also listed as a plaintiff, while INEC was named as the sole defendant when the suit was filed on June 4 through a legal team led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN.

The plaintiffs had asked the court to determine whether INEC was constitutionally bound to give effect to relevant court judgments concerning the PDP leadership crisis.

They also sought an interpretation of Article 32 of the party’s constitution, as amended in 2017, to establish whether the electoral commission was obligated to recognise the interim NWC.

However, a faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to entertain the suit.

The faction, led by National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed, argued that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to institute the action and maintained that it represented the authentic leadership of the party.

Mohammed, National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and other members of the faction also sought to be joined in the proceedings as interested parties.

They argued that they had emerged as party leaders at a convention held from March 29 to 30, while the Wabara-led group disputed the validity of the convention.

The defendants, including INEC, filed preliminary objections and counter-affidavits seeking the dismissal of the suit. The Mohammed-led faction also urged the court to remove the PDP’s name from the case, arguing that the party had not authorised the litigation.

In its judgment, the Federal High Court upheld the preliminary objections and struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.

Justice Salim Ibrahim held that the action amounted to an abuse of court process and an attempt to reopen issues that had already been determined by other courts.

The lower court also found that the suit sought orders capable of undermining subsisting judgments and noted that INEC had monitored the convention that produced the Mohammed-led executives.

It further cited previous judgments nullifying the PDP convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025, which produced the Turaki-led executives.

The court held that the plaintiffs had failed to establish that the interim committee was a lawful organ of the party authorised to communicate with INEC.

It subsequently awarded N70 million in costs against the plaintiffs in favour of the first to seventh defendants and ordered their counsel to personally pay N10 million, citing the need to discourage frivolous pre-election litigation.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the Wabara-led group approached the Court of Appeal but suffered another setback on Wednesday, as the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision.