The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, will on Thursday take a major step towards resolving the protracted leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party by adopting harmonised briefs filed by parties in the dispute.
This followed the sitting of the court Tuesday in Abuja.
Sighted at the court were leaders of the party, led by the governors-backed national chairman, Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and members of the National Working Committee, Governors Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), among many other chieftains.
The faction is seeking authenticity, following the ruling of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, which nullified the November 2025 convention that brought the Turaki-led NWC into office.
The move to harmonise the appeals is expected to clear the path for a definitive judgment in the internal wrangling that has fractured the former ruling party into rival camps and weakened its cohesion since the 2023 general election.
The appellate court will harmonise appeals arising from three conflicting judgments delivered by different divisions of the Federal High Court.
Two of the judgments were given by Justices Peter Lifu and James Omotosho of the Abuja Division, while the third was delivered by Justice Uche of the Ibadan Division.
In the Abuja rulings, the court barred the faction led by former Minister, Taminu Turaki, from holding the PDP’s national convention in Ibadan in November last year.
The courts held that the processes leading to the planned convention violated extant party guidelines and subsisting court orders.
However, in a separate judgment delivered in Ibadan, Justice Uche went further to nullify the convention after it was held, declaring it invalid, and restraining officials elected at the gathering from parading themselves as national officers of the party.
The conflicting rulings deepened the leadership crisis within the PDP, with rival factions laying claim to the party’s national leadership and secretariat.
While the Turaki-led group insists it represents the authentic national leadership, a rival camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has continued to challenge its legitimacy.
To streamline proceedings and avoid conflicting outcomes, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal ordered the Turaki faction to regularise and harmonise its appeals against the three judgments.
The court also directed all parties to align their processes to ensure a unified hearing.
At Thursday’s sitting, both the Turaki faction and the Wike-aligned camp are expected to formally adopt their briefs of argument.
Punch gathered that the court would thereafter fix a date for judgment in what would be a make-or-break moment for the opposition party.
The leadership tussle in the PDP dates back to the aftermath of the party’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election, which exposed deep cracks within its hierarchy.
Disagreements over zoning, the role of governors in party affairs, and the control of the national secretariat escalated into open confrontation, resulting in parallel meetings, suspensions, and court actions.
The crisis intensified following Wike’s open support for President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress during the presidential election.
His continued influence within the party, especially through loyalists in key organs, has remained a major source of contention.
Repeated efforts by the PDP’s Board of Trustees and other stakeholders to broker peace have largely failed, with factions preferring to pursue their claims through the courts.
The outcome of the Court of Appeal case will not only determine the legitimate leadership of the PDP but also shape its internal balance of power ahead of off-cycle governorship elections and the 2027 general election.
Punch
