The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara and seven others seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), affirming the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court which rejected the request.
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In its unanimous judgment delivered virtually on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the appellate court held that the appeal lacked merit, describing the underlying suit as an academic exercise and an abuse of judicial process.
The court also upheld the ₦70 million costs earlier imposed on the plaintiffs by the Federal High Court and awarded an additional ₦15 million against the appellants in favour of three groups of respondents.
The judgment was delivered in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/1221/2026 by a three-member panel comprising Justices Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu, Laja Balogun and Ruquayat Oremei Ayoola.
Justice Ogakwu presided over the panel, while Justice Ayoola delivered the lead judgment through a virtual sitting conducted via Zoom. The other justices concurred.
The appeal arose from the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered by Justice Salim Ibrahim in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, which declined to direct INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim NWC as the legitimate national leadership of the PDP.
The appellants, comprising the Wabara-led Board of Trustees and other prominent members of the party, had challenged the lower court’s refusal to grant their requests.
In the appeal, they urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the Federal High Court’s judgment and compel INEC to give effect to the leadership structure allegedly constituted by the party’s National Executive Committee following earlier judicial decisions concerning the PDP leadership crisis.
They also sought an order directing the electoral commission to publish the names of members of the interim NWC on its official website and recognise official correspondence forwarded by the committee.
However, delivering the lead judgment, Justice Ayoola resolved all nine issues formulated for determination against the appellants.
The appellate court upheld the Federal High Court’s finding that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the substantive suit, particularly having regard to questions surrounding the appellants’ legal standing to institute proceedings on behalf of the PDP.
The court also affirmed the lower court’s conclusion that the action was an attempt to reopen issues already considered in earlier judicial proceedings concerning the party’s leadership.
It consequently upheld the finding that the suit was academic and constituted an abuse of court process.
The appellate court further affirmed the decision striking out the PDP, which had been listed as the eighth plaintiff and appellant, from the proceedings.
It also dismissed grounds 11 and 12 of the appeal because they were not connected to any issue formulated for determination.
Although the panel upheld some preliminary objections raised by the respondents, it declined to strike out the entire appeal on those objections and proceeded to determine the relevant issues.
The court subsequently dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Federal High Court’s decision, including the dismissal of the originating summons and the orders joining the second to seventh respondents.
In affirming the lower court’s judgment, Justice Ayoola stated that the appellate court found no basis to interfere with the decision already reached by the Federal High Court.
“The appeal fails, and the decision of the Federal High Court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, including the order dismissing the originating summons and the orders joining the 2nd to 7th respondents and striking out the 8th plaintiff, is affirmed,” the judge held.
The court also declined to disturb the ₦70 million costs earlier imposed by the Federal High Court.
In addition, it awarded ₦5 million to INEC as the first respondent, another ₦5 million jointly to the second, third and fourth respondents, and ₦5 million jointly to the fifth, sixth and seventh respondents.
The additional costs awarded at the appellate stage consequently totalled ₦15 million.
The court directed that Certified True Copies of its judgment be made available to the parties.
The legal dispute originated from the continuing leadership crisis within the PDP, which has produced competing claims to the party’s national leadership and generated several court proceedings.
The substantive suit before the Federal High Court was instituted by Wabara, a former Senate President, alongside former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu; former Minister of Information Professor Jerry Gana; and former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Olabode George.
Other plaintiffs included former Minister of Women Affairs Maryam Ciroma; former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Zainab Maina; and a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Dame Esther Uduehi.
The PDP was also named as a plaintiff, while INEC was initially listed as the sole defendant.
The plaintiffs contended that the party’s National Executive Committee had constituted an interim NWC under the leadership of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, and forwarded the names of its members to INEC for recognition.
They argued that the electoral commission was obligated to recognise the leadership arrangement in accordance with the party’s constitution and the relevant provisions of Nigerian law.
The plaintiffs specifically asked the Federal High Court to determine whether Article 32 of the PDP Constitution required INEC to recognise the interim NWC forwarded by the party’s National Executive Committee.
They also relied on Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, in arguing that the commission was required to give effect to subsisting judicial decisions relating to the party’s leadership dispute.
According to them, INEC’s refusal to recognise and publish the names of the Turaki-led interim NWC prevented the committee from exercising its claimed authority over the affairs of the party.
The suit was, however, opposed by members of the rival PDP leadership associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The rival group, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, maintained that the Wabara-led Board of Trustees lacked the authority to institute the action on behalf of the PDP.
The group argued that the plaintiffs had not established the legitimacy of the interim NWC they wanted INEC to recognise.
It also challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and sought to be joined in the proceedings on the grounds that the outcome could affect its claimed leadership of the party.
Among those who sought to participate in the proceedings were Mohammed, Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Kamardeen Ajibade, alongside other party members aligned with the rival leadership.
The applicants maintained that they were duly elected as national officers of the PDP and that the Wabara-led group could not lawfully seek judicial recognition of a competing leadership structure in the party’s name.
After considering the applications, Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the requests for joinder, holding that the interests of the affected parties could be directly influenced by the outcome of the suit.
The judge also upheld preliminary objections challenging the competence of the action and the legal standing of the plaintiffs.
In the judgment delivered in July 2026, the Federal High Court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish their authority to institute proceedings in the PDP’s name or demonstrate that the Turaki-led interim NWC was a lawful organ entitled to demand recognition from INEC.
Justice Ibrahim found that the suit sought to revisit issues already determined by courts in earlier proceedings concerning the leadership of the party.
The court consequently described the action as an abuse of judicial process and declined to grant the reliefs sought against the electoral commission.
It also considered existing judgments concerning rival PDP conventions and the competing leadership structures that emerged from them.
The lower court held that the plaintiffs had not established a sufficient legal basis for the orders sought, particularly against the background of the previous judicial decisions.
It consequently dismissed the originating summons and imposed ₦70 million in costs against the plaintiffs.
The lower court also made a separate costs order against counsel for the plaintiffs, although the present appellate judgment concerns the appeal brought by Wabara and the other appellants.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Wabara-led group approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the findings on jurisdiction, legal standing and abuse of court process.
However, the appellate court’s decision on Wednesday has left the Federal High Court judgment undisturbed.
The development represents another setback for the Turaki-led faction in its effort to secure official recognition of its leadership structure from INEC.
The judgment also has implications for the continuing dispute over which group is authorised to manage the party’s affairs and communicate its decisions to the electoral commission ahead of the 2027 general election.
The rival faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, which is politically associated with Wike, has maintained that its leadership is the lawful national executive of the PDP.
INEC currently recognises the Mohammed-led leadership, while the Turaki-led faction continues to contest that position.
The controversy has extended beyond the composition of the NWC to questions surrounding the validity of party conventions, official correspondence, candidate nominations and other decisions attributed to the competing factions.
Among the disputed political developments is the Turaki faction’s reported adoption of former President Goodluck Jonathan as its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The appellate court’s refusal to compel INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim NWC leaves unresolved questions concerning the legal consequences of decisions taken by that faction.
However, the judgment should not be interpreted as a separate, final judicial determination of every nomination or political decision associated with the competing PDP factions.
It specifically concerns the appeal challenging the Federal High Court’s refusal to order INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim leadership.
Reacting to the judgment, the Turaki-led faction announced that it had instructed its lawyers to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, the faction said it respected the Court of Appeal’s judgment but remained determined to pursue what it described as a struggle for justice and the legitimate leadership of the PDP.
“While we respect the judgment of the court, 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,” the statement said.
The faction expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would eventually resolve the controversy in its favour.
“We have instructed our lawyers to immediately file an appeal before the Supreme Court, in the hope that justice will eventually be done,” it added.
The group also insisted that the PDP must remain a strong opposition party capable of holding the Federal Government accountable.
It warned against allowing the party to become an appendage of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“The Peoples Democratic Party must, as an opposition party, offer an alternative to the ruling party, and not become an appendage of it. Democracy survives only when the opposition is strong enough to effectively engage the government,” the statement continued.
The faction appealed to its members and supporters to remain resolute while the legal dispute proceeds to the country’s apex court.
“We urge our members to remain firm and resolute as we approach the highest court of the land. We trust that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that when this victory is finally won, the pains we are passing through will make a good story for the survival of multiparty democracy and the next generation,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the Mohammed-led faction welcomed the appellate judgment, describing it as a victory for the rule of law and the PDP Constitution.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, the faction maintained that the dismissal of the appeal strengthened its position in the party’s leadership dispute.
It argued that the decision had affirmed the lower court’s refusal to recognise the competing interim leadership claimed by the Wabara-backed group.
The rival reactions underscore the continuing divisions within the PDP as the party approaches the 2027 general election.
Although the Court of Appeal has upheld the Federal High Court’s decision and imposed additional costs, the Turaki-led faction’s decision to approach the Supreme Court means that the legal controversy may continue.
The dispute raises questions concerning the authority of party organs, the legal standing of members to institute proceedings on behalf of political parties, the binding effect of earlier judgments and the circumstances in which courts may intervene in internal party leadership disagreements.
For now, the Court of Appeal’s ruling leaves intact the Federal High Court judgment refusing to compel INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim NWC, while the appellants seek a final determination from the Supreme Court.
The judgment also leaves the appellants liable for the additional ₦15 million costs awarded by the appellate court, alongside the ₦70 million costs previously imposed by the Federal High Court.
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