As Turaki Faction Demands INEC Derecognise Anyanwu And Wike Camp Insists No Valid Expulsion Occurred
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The protracted leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party has taken a dramatic new turn, with zonal chairmen of the party signalling their readiness to assume interim national leadership should the courts uphold the expulsion of National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and nullify the conventions organised under his authority even as the rival Turaki faction demands INEC immediately derecognise Anyanwu as a party member and the Wike-aligned faction fires back insisting that no valid expulsion ever took place.
The developments reveal a party fracturing along multiple legal, factional, and structural fault lines simultaneously, with each faction pursuing different courts, different constitutional arguments, and different endgames while PDP zonal chairmen quietly position themselves as potential saviours of a party that may soon have no legally recognised national leadership at all.
Several PDP zonal chairmen have confided that they are prepared to invoke the doctrine of necessity a constitutional principle that permits extraordinary action to prevent a governance vacuum should pending court decisions leave the party without legally recognised national leaders.
Their plan, discussed among at least two zonal chairmen and expected to be expanded to others, would involve appointing an acting National Chairman and acting National Secretary from among themselves and other surviving National Working Committee members whose tenures remain intact.
“It is high time we put a final stop to all these crises. The zonal chairmen are not just there; we are part of the NWC and we have the mandate to stabilise the party,” one zonal chairman stated, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
He outlined the scenario that would trigger their intervention: “If the court upholds Anyanwu’s expulsion and the nullification of the Ibadan convention, it means there will be a leadership vacuum. Anyanwu, as an expelled member of the PDP, cannot act for or on behalf of the party. You cannot build something on nothing.”
The chairman went further, explaining the cascading legal consequences: “Since he wrote INEC to notify the commission of the Wike-backed convention, the court may declare his actions a nullity if he is no longer a party member. If both conventions are nullified, then we will have to step in.”
He confirmed that discussions have already begun: “Two of us have discussed this, and we need to step up efforts in that direction.”
A second zonal chairman echoed the readiness while acknowledging the uncertainty: “We don’t know what the court will say about the two conventions, so it may be premature to make plans. But despite that, NWC members are constitutionally recognised, and our functions are clearly spelt out. A doctrine of necessity may arise from these legal issues.”
However, the North-East Zonal Chairman, Babangida Maddibo, counselled patience: “Let us wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court on the cases. We shouldn’t put the cart before the horse. When we get to the bridge, we will cross it.”
The zonal chairmen’s positioning comes against the backdrop of an aggressive legal move by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction, which has written directly to INEC demanding the immediate derecognition of Anyanwu.
In a strongly worded letter dated April 16, 2026, addressed to INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, the faction’s counsel Abdullahi Ibrahim SAN demanded that the commission enforce the January 12, 2026, judgment of the FCT High Court.
The letter cited Justice Yusuf Halilu’s ruling in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1050/2025, which dismissed Anyanwu’s suit and affirmed his expulsion from the PDP.
“Senator Samuel Anyanwu has ceased to be a member and officer of the Peoples Democratic Party and has no competence to act on behalf of the party in any capacity whatsoever since his expulsion,” the letter stated.
The Turaki faction emphasised that Anyanwu’s filing of a notice of appeal on April 10, 2026, does not constitute a stay of execution meaning the High Court judgment remains subsisting and enforceable under Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
“The judgment dismissing his case remains subsisting and in force, and the commission has a constitutional obligation to enforce, comply with, and implement the judgment even without prompting from the Peoples Democratic Party,” the letter declared.
The faction demanded that INEC expunge all recognitions granted to Anyanwu since January 12, 2026, including any correspondences, notices, and his listing on the INEC portal as PDP National Secretary a move that, if implemented, would unravel the entire Wike-backed convention and the NWC it produced.
The Turaki faction’s spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, spelled out the devastating implications if Anyanwu’s expulsion is upheld and enforced.
“The so-called caretaker committee is in limbo. If the court upholds Anyanwu’s expulsion, it would mean everything built on him will collapse like a pack of cards. It affects the so-called National Working Committee,” Ememobong stated.
He pointed out that Anyanwu signed critical notices to INEC in his capacity as National Secretary — including notifications for NEC meetings and the convention itself. Since those notices were signed by a person who, under the subsisting court judgment, was already expelled from the party at the time of signing, every action flowing from those notices could be declared void.
“So everything will collapse on them,” Ememobong concluded.
The Wike-aligned faction has pushed back strongly against the narrative of Anyanwu’s expulsion, describing media reports as misleading and insisting that no valid suspension or expulsion ever took effect.
In a statement issued on Saturday by National Publicity Secretary Jungudo Mohammed, the faction argued that the Tom Ikimi Disciplinary Committee only made a recommendation for suspension — which was never reviewed, adopted, or ratified by either the National Working Committee or the National Executive Committee.
“The suit, which was first initiated at the FCT High Court, was filed to challenge the competence and proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee previously chaired by Mr. Tom Ikimi, who has since left the PDP,” Mohammed stated.
The faction argued that the committee was constituted in violation of Chapter 10, Article 57(1) of the PDP Constitution, rendering its recommendations non-binding.
Mohammed further contended that the FCT High Court judgment did not actually affirm any suspension or expulsion rather, the suit was struck out partly on jurisdictional grounds concerning internal party discipline, meaning the court declined to adjudicate on the substance of the expulsion rather than upholding it.
In a surprising disclosure, the Wike faction revealed that the appeal filed by Anyanwu on April 10, 2026, at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal was lodged “inadvertently” and has since been directed to be withdrawn immediately as it was “no longer necessary.”
This is a notable strategic reversal. If the appeal is withdrawn, it would eliminate the legal avenue through which the FCT High Court judgment could be overturned effectively leaving the dismissal of Anyanwu’s suit in place unless a separate legal mechanism is found to challenge it.
The faction’s explanation that the appeal was “inadvertent” raises questions about internal coordination and legal strategy within the Wike camp, particularly given the significance of the case to the legitimacy of the entire Wike-backed convention and the NWC it produced.
The Wike faction maintained that the Abuja convention of March 29-30, 2026, which produced Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman and retained Anyanwu as National Secretary, was conducted with full legal backing in line with valid court judgments and was duly monitored by INEC.
INEC subsequently recognised the Mohammed-led National Working Committee and updated its records accordingly a recognition the Turaki faction is now demanding be reversed.
The convention was separate from the earlier Ibadan convention of November 15, 2025, held under then Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, which had expelled Anyanwu alongside Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike and former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose. Courts later nullified the Ibadan convention.
The crisis has followed a complex trajectory.
On March 10, 2025, the PDP’s National Disciplinary Committee recommended Anyanwu’s expulsion for alleged anti-party activities.
On November 15, 2025, the Ibadan convention formally expelled Anyanwu, Wike, Fayose, and others. Courts subsequently nullified this convention.
On January 12, 2026, Justice Halilu of the FCT High Court dismissed Anyanwu’s suit challenging his expulsion.
On March 29-30, 2026, the Wike-backed convention was held in Abuja with Anyanwu acting as National Secretary, producing a new NWC that INEC recognised.
On April 10, 2026, Anyanwu filed an appeal which the Wike faction now says was “inadvertent” and is being withdrawn.
On April 16, 2026, the Turaki faction wrote to INEC demanding derecognition of Anyanwu and everything done in his name.
Legal experts offered differing perspectives on the implications.
A Lagos-based Senior Advocate described the situation plainly: “Someone who is not part of a family cannot act on behalf of that family. If his expulsion is upheld, then all his actions may be nullified because an expelled member no longer has legal standing within the party.”
Another lawyer cautioned against hasty conclusions: “Were the processes leading to the reported expulsion transparent? Was he given a fair hearing? Were all legal requirements followed? These are critical questions.”
The PDP leadership crisis, running parallel to the ADC leadership crisis, raises existential questions about the state of opposition politics in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 elections.
If both PDP conventions are nullified, the party would lack a legally recognised national leadership at the very moment it needs to conduct primaries, select candidates, and mount a campaign. The zonal chairmen’s fallback plan invoking the doctrine of necessity to appoint acting leaders would itself be vulnerable to legal challenge, potentially adding another layer of litigation to an already lawsuit-saturated situation.
For a party that has historically served as Nigeria’s primary opposition and has produced two presidents, the prospect of entering the 2027 election cycle without settled leadership, with its national secretary’s membership in question, and with rival factions pursuing contradictory legal strategies, represents a crisis of existential proportions.
The Supreme Court’s pending ruling on the PDP cases like its April 22 hearing on the ADC may determine whether Nigeria’s opposition parties can participate meaningfully in the 2027 elections, or whether internal warfare and legal paralysis will hand the ruling APC a walkover.
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