The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The appellate court, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, which had earlier declined to order INEC to recognise the interim leadership of the opposition party.
The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1221/2026, was instituted by Senator Adolphus Wabara and seven others, including members of the PDP Board of Trustees and some founding members of the party, against INEC and six other respondents.
The appellants had approached the appellate court to challenge the judgment of the Federal High Court, delivered by Justice Salim, which refused their request to compel the electoral umpire to recognise the interim NWC led by Turaki.
The interim leadership emerged from a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting convened following a Supreme Court judgment on the protracted leadership crisis within the PDP.
However, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu, with Justices Laja Balogun and Ruquayat Oremei Ayoola as members, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the lower court’s decision in its entirety.
Reacting to the ruling, the Interim NWC’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the group had accepted the court’s decision but would proceed to challenge it at the Supreme Court.
In a statement published on the party’s official X handle on Wednesday, Ememobong disclosed that the group’s legal team had been directed to immediately initiate the process of appealing the judgment.
He said the interim leadership remained committed to pursuing what it described as justice, expressing confidence that the truth would eventually prevail.
“We are determined to take our quest for justice anchored on truth to the apex court in the land. It is our belief that no matter how deep the truth is buried, if those seeking it are persistent in digging, it will one day resurface,” he said.
Ememobong added that the party had instructed its lawyers to immediately file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
The statement also stressed the need for a strong and independent opposition party, insisting that the PDP must continue to serve as a credible alternative to the ruling party rather than become an appendage of the government.
“The PDP, as the main opposition party, must provide a credible alternative to the ruling party and not become its appendage,” the statement added.
It further urged party members to remain resolute as the legal battle moves to the Supreme Court, expressing optimism that the eventual outcome would strengthen Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
