By Our Correspondent
The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deepened at the weekend after a faction of the party held a contentious national convention in Ibadan.
The event was conducted in the absence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and in open defiance of two separate restraining orders issued by Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The faction, which has positioned itself as an alternative power bloc within the party, went on to announce the “expulsion” of top leaders, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the National Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
Others included the acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdurahman; Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa; and South-South Vice Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih- all loyalists of Wike, who had earlier suspended officers aligned with the Ibadan group.
They elected a former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Tanimu Turaki, as the new National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja was elected National Secretary.
Other national officers, including Mr Solarin Adekunle (Deputy National Organising Secretary), were elected unopposed.
However, the legality of the entire Ibadan exercise collapsed almost instantly after multiple revelations showed that the gathering had run afoul of judicial rules, violated the PDP constitution, and lacked the electoral oversight required by law.
THISNIGERIA reports that Justice Omotosho had twice issued restraining orders barring the organisers of the Ibadan meeting from holding any event that could alter the structure, leadership, or organs of the PDP pending the determination of a substantive suit.
Despite the clarity of the directives, the faction proceeded with the Ibadan convention, claiming protection under a counter-order obtained from an Oyo State High Court.
Legal experts, however, said the Oyo court acted without jurisdiction.
“The Oyo High Court had no business issuing an order on a matter already being handled by the Federal High Court in Abuja,” a senior judicial analyst told THISNIGERIA.
“Two courts of concurrent jurisdiction cannot issue conflicting rulings on the same subject. It is against the ethical and procedural backbone of the Nigerian judiciary.”
Further investigations show fatal procedural flaws: The Federal High Court was already in charge of the matter, having issued two subsisting orders; The subject involved a federal agency—INEC—which is only bound by orders of a Federal High Court, not a state High Court; The Oyo ruling amounted to judicial interference in a matter that was clearly beyond its jurisdiction.
“This is judicial indiscipline, plain and simple,” another legal expert noted. “Once a Federal High Court is handling a case, a State High Court cannot jump into it like a parallel referee.”
The clearest indicator that the Ibadan event lacked constitutional weight was the total absence of INEC officials.
A senior INEC director confirmed, “INEC did not attend any PDP convention in Ibadan. We received no valid notice, and no official monitored the gathering.”
Given that INEC must observe any national convention where leadership changes or disciplinary actions are taken, the absence of the Commission renders the purported expulsions null in the eyes of the law.
Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who was initially listed to chair the NEC arm of the Ibadan convention, reportedly washed his hands off after discovering that no INEC official was present and that a Federal High Court order had halted the event.
He didn’t want to be seen participating in an illegality.
A top aide to the Governor told THISNIGERIA, “His Excellency withdrew because he would not preside over a meeting that violated clear legal protocols. He also rejects entirely the purported expulsion of Wike and others.”
Fintiri’s withdrawal sent shockwaves through the faction, but the organisers pressed on.
Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, blasted the Ibadan gathering, dismissing it as a political circus driven by intoxicated actors.
“It was not a convention; it was Detty December in November,” Olayinka said. “Those who gathered were intoxicated—intoxicated by their own desperation and illusions. They cannot expel anybody. They lack the power, the legitimacy, and even the understanding of the PDP constitution.”
Olayinka insisted that Wike remains a bona fide member of the PDP and accused the organisers of trying to drag the party into ridicule.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Muftwang described the Ibadan convention as a needless distraction orchestrated by individuals bent on destabilising the party.
“The PDP must focus on unity, not anarchy,” he said. “The Ibadan gathering did not follow the constitution and is not recognised by any legitimate organ of the party.”
He said he does not support the expulsion of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and other leaders from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He added that the decision does not represent the Governor’s stance on the matter.
The Plateau State governor stated that taking such a decision at a sensitive moment in the party’s history would not aid efforts to resolve its internal disputes.
The crisis highlights the deep-seated fractures within the party, which are divided among the pro-Wike bloc, the Atiku camp, and emerging rival factions.
Analysts say the Ibadan meeting was designed to undercut Wike’s growing influence and assert a new power centre within the party, one that disregards both due process and institutional safeguards.
A former national officer of the party noted, “Expulsion has a process: query, defence, disciplinary hearing, NWC recommendation, NEC ratification. None of these happened. This Ibadan thing is a roadside gathering dressed up as a convention.”
With key governors disowning the event, INEC distancing itself, and legal experts warning of the dangers of judicial conflict, the PDP finds itself at a delicate and perilous crossroads.
Some insiders warn that the party risks going into final extinction if urgent steps are not taken to resolve the crisis.
“The Ibadan convention has exposed the PDP’s soft underbelly,” a former governor said. “This is a defining moment. The leadership must choose whether to salvage the party or allow it to descend into chaos.”
For now, the party remains ensnared in a web of legal missteps, political brinkmanship, and internal warfare—its future uncertain as the 2027 election cycle approaches.
*‘Our convention legal, decisions in order’
In a swift pushback, one of the leaders of the Ibadan faction insisted that their actions were valid.
The staunch party member from Ondo State, who craved anonymity, told THISNIGERIA that the convention “was duly convened under the authority of the majority of genuine stakeholders,” adding that the Oyo court order “provided sufficient legal backing for all decisions taken.”
“We stand by everything done in Ibadan,” he said. “Our convention was legal, our decisions are in order, and we acted to rescue the party from hijackers.”
