The crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party escalated on Thursday as the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the party’s National Working Committee faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission for recognising a caretaker committee backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the Turaki faction described INEC’s action as unconstitutional and provocative, warning that it would challenge the move through all available legal channels.
The development followed a Federal High Court judgment delivered in Ibadan last week, which nullified the PDP National Convention held on November 15, 2025, and directed Turaki and others to stop presenting themselves as national officers of the party.
Before the ruling, PDP governors had supported the Ibadan convention that produced Turaki and members of the National Working Committee for a four-year tenure.
However, Wike and his allies, including Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, maintained that they remained the acting national leaders of the party.
Amid the dispute, the Wike-aligned bloc set up a 13-member caretaker committee on December 8 with a 60-day mandate, even as both camps sought official recognition from INEC.
Although the commission initially declined to recognise either faction, it later acknowledged the Wike-backed committee, whose representatives attended its quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja as acting party officials.
Reacting, the Turaki-led leadership said it had instructed its legal team to file an appeal and pursue all lawful options to contest both the court decision and INEC’s action.
The faction urged party members to remain calm while awaiting judicial resolution of the leadership tussle, insisting that INEC lacks the authority to determine the party’s leadership.
Ememobong said the commission ought to have exercised restraint given that several cases on the matter are pending before the Court of Appeal, adding that the final outcome of those proceedings would determine the legitimate leadership of the party.
Meanwhile, the Wike-backed camp welcomed the court ruling that barred Turaki and others from acting as members of the National Working Committee and indicated plans to organise a fresh convention to elect new officers.
The Turaki faction, however, maintained confidence in its leadership, assuring supporters that ongoing legal efforts would stabilise the party and position it as a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 general elections.
