News Editor
Attention: Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), Chairman, Independent
National Electoral Commission
By Adakole IJOGI
Member, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
I write to you not as a stranger to the law, but as a committed member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who has witnessed, with both concern and hope, the judicial resolution of our party’s leadership crisis. Having carefully studied the relevant judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, I am compelled to address this open letter to you, urging the Independent National Electoral Commission to take immediate and lawful action. The path to recognition is no longer a matter of discretion; it is a matter of legal compulsion.
As a starting point, let me state clearly: the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in Appeal No. SC/CV/164/2026 delivered on April 30, 2026, together with the concurrent findings of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/1613/2025 delivered on March 9, 2026, have conclusively settled the legal framework governing the leadership of the PDP. I therefore respectfully but firmly demand the immediate recognition of the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led Interim National Working Committee, which was lawfully constituted by the 104th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP held on May 4, 2026, as the authentic leadership of our great party.
TO BEGIN WITH, THE COURT OF APPEAL HAS DEFINITIVELY AFFIRMED THE SUSPENSIONS OF FOUR SENIOR NATIONAL OFFICERS: On March 9, 2026, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal Justices Mohammed Ambi-Usi Danjuma, Okechukwu Onyemenam, and Muhammed Mustapha delivered a unanimous judgment in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/1613/2025. That judgment upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025 delivered by Justice James Omotosho on October 31,
2025.
What was the core of that judgment? It was the affirmation of the PDP National Working Committee’s (NWC) decision of November 1, 2025, to suspend four national officers for anti-party activities and conduct inconsistent with the PDP Constitution. The suspended officers are:
- Senator Samuel Anyanwu (National Secretary)
- Barr. Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN (National Legal Adviser)
- Okechukwu Osuoha (Deputy National Legal Adviser)
- Hon. Umaru Bature (National Organising Secretary)
The Court of Appeal held unequivocally that the PDP acted within its constitutional powers and that the suspensions were valid. All legal challenges brought by the suspended officials were dismissed. The court emphasized the NWC’s authority to enforce party discipline. This judgment is binding and final, and I note with emphasis that the Supreme Court did not overturn it.
MOREOVER, IT IS A SETTLED PRINCIPLE OF OUR JURISPRUDENCE THAT A HIGHER COURT’S SILENCE ON A SUBSIDIARY ISSUE LEAVES THE LOWER COURT’S RULING INTACT: Turning to the Supreme Court’s decision of April 30,
2026, in Appeal No. SC/CV/164/2026, the apex court nullified the Ibadan National Convention of November 15–16, 2025, which had produced the original Turaki-led NWC, on the ground that it was held in defiance of a valid court order. However and this is critical the Supreme Court did not rule on the substantive validity of the suspensions. The consequence is clear: the Court of Appeal’s March 9 judgment
affirming the suspensions of Senator Anyanwu and others remains the binding and subsisting legal authority on that specific issue. Your Commission is duty-bound to respect that subsisting judgment.
FURTHERMORE, IT IS SELF-EVIDENT THAT THE SUSPENDED OFFICERS CANNOT LAWFULLY ACT ON BEHALF OF THE PDP: Having been lawfully suspended by the party’s NWC, and having had their suspension affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Senator Anyanwu and the other affected officers possess no legal authority to act for the PDP or to hold themselves out as its leaders. Any action taken by these suspended officers including the organization of a rival convention in Abuja on March
29, 2026, which produced the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led NWC is null and void ab initio. It is a bedrock principle of law that a person who is not a legitimate member of an organization cannot bind it or speak for it. I respectfully submit that the Commission should disregard all communications and claims emanating from these suspended individuals.
BEYOND THAT, THE COMBINED EFFECT OF THE JUDGMENTS CREATED A COMPLETE LEADERSHIP VACUUM, WHICH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES CONSTITUTIONALLY FILLED: Let me be precise about the legal situation following the two judgments:
- The Ibadan Convention that produced the original Turaki-led NWC was nullified.
- The officers who orchestrated the rival Abdulrahman Mohammed-led NWC were lawfully suspended from the PDP.
Thus, the PDP was left without any valid National Working Committee. Faced with this vacuum, the Board of Trustees (BoT) the second-highest organ of the party under Section 32(5) of the PDP Constitution acted promptly and constitutionally. The BoT, led by Senator Adolphus Wabara, convened a statutory meeting and, on May 4, 2026, summoned an emergency 103rd NEC meeting at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja. That meeting was constituted with the mandatory two- thirds consent of NEC members and complied fully with all constitutional notice requirements, including the statutory 21-day notice to INEC.
EQUALLY IMPORTANT, THE 103rd NEC MEETING WAS QUORATE, PROPERLY CONSTITUTED, AND ITS RESOLUTIONS ARE BINDING: The 103rd NEC meeting unanimously resolved to establish a 13-member Interim National Working Committee to manage the party’s affairs until a properly conducted national convention can be held. The newly inaugurated iNWC leadership includes:
- Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN – Chairman
- Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja – Secretary
- Eleven other distinguished party members representing all geopolitical zones.
This Interim NWC was immediately sworn in and has since commenced its functions. I submit that this process was not only lawful but also the only available constitutional path forward.
IN CONTRAST, THE ABDULRAHMAN MOHAMMED-LED FACTION RESTS ON A FOUNDATION OF LEGAL NULLITY: I must also address the rival faction. The group led by Abdulrahman Mohammed lacks any constitutional or legal basis for its claim to leadership. Its principal actors Senator Anyanwu and others have been lawfully suspended from the PDP by a Court of Appeal judgment that is final and binding. Moreover, its claim to leadership derives from an illegal convention organized by suspended officers, making it a nullity from the beginning. The continued occupation of the PDP National Secretariat at Wadata Plaza by this faction is not merely an internal party dispute; it is an act of illegality and a direct challenge to the rule of law.
FOR ALL THESE REASONS, I RESPECTFULLY BUT FIRMLY CALL ON INEC TO ACT WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY: I therefore urge the Independent National Electoral Commission to take the following immediate steps:
- Accord formal recognition to the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led Interim National Working Committee as the sole legitimate leadership of the PDP.
- Update its official portal to reflect the names of the members of the Turaki- led Interim NWC as the duly recognized leadership of the party.
- Cease all forms of communication, recognition, or engagement with the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led faction, which has no legal standing.
Dear distinguished Senior Advocate and Professor, INEC is a constitutional body sworn to uphold the rule of law and the sanctity of judicial decisions. Any further delay in recognizing the legitimate leadership of the PDP would amount to a dereliction of duty, an affront to the judiciary, and a dangerous precedent that would destabilize our party and the nation’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
I trust that the Commission will act in accordance with the law and justice.
Signed,
Adakole IJOGI
Member, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
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