PDP Turmoil Deepens as Wike’s Faction Takes Legal Action to Void Ibadan Convention
The internal power struggle within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) escalated sharply on Tuesday, as supporters of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to invalidate the party’s national convention held on November 15–16 in Ibadan.
In the case (FHC/ABJ/CS/2501/2025), the plaintiffs, including acting national chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman and national secretary Samuel Anyanwu, asked the court to declare the convention null and to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing any officers or decisions that emerged from it.
They argue that the Ibadan gathering ignored several binding court rulings, including:
The October 31 judgment in Austine Nwachukwu v INEC
The interim and final orders on November 11 and 14 in Sule Lamido v PDP
A May 31, 2023, decision in Nyesom Wike v PDP
According to the complaint, these rulings undermined the statutory 21-day notice requirement for the convention, a flaw they say should have prevented the Ibadan event from occurring.
Despite these legal concerns, the Wike-aligned camp claims other PDP actors (referred to as the “5th to 25th defendants”) went ahead with the convention, electing new national officers and suspending or expelling many of Wike’s supporters.
Tensions also extend to the party’s secretariat. In his affidavit, Mr. Anyanwu alleges that on November 18, rival party members tried to forcibly seize control of key offices at Wadata Plaza and Legacy House. Security agencies, he claims, then shut down the buildings and blocked access for him and Abdulrahman.
The plaintiffs are now asking the court to compel INEC, the police, and the DSS to enforce the earlier court judgements, prevent any institution from recognizing the results of the Ibadan convention, and restore their access to the PDP secretariat.
They are also asking for a ruling on whether, under the pending legal disputes, any authority can validly validate the convention.
As of now, the case has not yet been assigned to a judge.