Trending 
The camp of former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently without a clearly defined leadership following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, while expressing confidence that the party’s constitutional organs will act swiftly to restore order.
This position was conveyed in a statement on Thursday by the camp’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, who noted that the split judgment also upheld the Court of Appeal’s suspension of Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), Samuel Anyanwu, and others.
In two split 3–2 decisions, the apex court nullified the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025, which produced a leadership aligned with Turaki and backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
ICIR Nigeria.
In the majority ruling, the court held that the convention was conducted in violation of existing court orders restraining the party from proceeding unless specific conditions were met. It further criticised the PDP for going ahead with the exercise despite clear judicial directives.
According to the Turaki camp, Justices Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Stephen Adah, and Garba based their decision on the party’s disregard for a valid Federal High Court judgment, holding that parties in contempt could not seek relief before the apex court, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.
However, the minority judgment by Justices Haruna Tsammani and Abubakar Umar maintained that the appeals arose from the internal affairs of the PDP and were therefore not justiciable.
The dissenting justices also argued that the court should not raise issues suo motu without giving parties the opportunity to address them.
“With this split judgment, which also upheld the Court of Appeal’s suspension of Ajibade, SAN, Anyanwu, and others, this effectively leaves the PDP as a party without a defined leadership,” the statement said.
Despite the situation, the Turaki camp expressed optimism that the party’s existing structures would take necessary steps to stabilise the PDP and establish a recognised leadership moving forward, warning that failure to act decisively could have wider implications for Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
