76 PDP, PDI staff allege judicial bid to cripple opposition ahead of 2027

2026-02-03 - 17:48

By Luminous Jannamike ABUJA – Seventy-six management and staff members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) have rejected the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, on the leadership of the party, alleging that it forms part of a judicial bid to cripple opposition politics ahead of the 2027 general elections. The staff reaffirmed their loyalty to the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN–led National Working Committee (NWC), insisting that it remains the only valid and legally constituted leadership of the party, having emerged from the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15–16, 2025. Their position was contained in a statement jointly signed by the management and staff of the PDP and PDI, including Gambo Isa Gaude, Ag. Director, Administration; Dr. Edward Ugbada Adie, Director-General of the PDI; Nnorom Chinwe Ihuoma, Director, Constitution and Electoral Matters, and several other directors and senior officials across both institutions. In the statement, the staff made it clear that, as custodians of the PDP National Secretariat, they would not recognise or align with any leadership other than the one produced by the Ibadan convention. They stated, “That the entire Management and Staff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reaffirm our recognition, loyalty and allegiance to the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki SAN-led National Working Committee (NWC) of our great Party which was duly and legally elected at the Party’s National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15-16, 2025. “That we stand by the election of the National Working Committee and all other resolutions reached at the Ibadan National Convention as they are in the general interest of our party in the exercise of its supremacy over its internal affairs in line with the Constitution of the PDP and extant judgments of the Supreme Court. “That there was no legal encumbrance whatsoever against the conduct of the National Convention in Ibadan to elect new National Officers of our party, as it was legally convened by the National Executive Committee at its 101st meeting of July 24, 2025 pursuant to its powers under Section 31 (2) (a) of the PDP Constitution. “That our Party fulfilled the statutory requirements of the law as stipulated in Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022 by notifying INEC of the National Convention which was convened with them (INEC) in attendance.” Raising concerns over the Ibadan judgment, the staff described it as inconsistent with existing Supreme Court decisions on party internal affairs, especially as the matter is already before an appellate court on the issue of jurisdiction. They also faulted the court for granting reliefs which, according to them, were not sought and for attempting to impose a caretaker committee on the party. “There is no provision in our Party’s Constitution empowering any unelected individual or group to arbitrarily form committees and allocate positions to themselves,” they said. The staff further stated that the tenure of the immediate past NWC had ended and that its members could no longer lay claim to any office within the party. Commending the party leadership for filing an appeal and securing a stay of execution, the staff said the legal steps had placed the judgment in abeyance and preserved the status of the Turaki-led NWC pending the outcome of the appeal. Beyond the leadership dispute, the statement escalated the matter to a broader democratic concern, calling on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to act. “As critical stakeholders in the Democratic process, we urge the National Judicial Council (NJC) to caution judges who are complicit in delivering judgments or issuing orders that make them appear as willing tools in the hands of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to cripple opposition and destroy our hard-earned democracy,” the 76 staff said. They warned that continued actions perceived as undermining judicial neutrality could weaken public confidence in the courts. “Our fear is that when such confidence is eroded, citizens have the tendency to resort to self-help; a recipe for crisis in the country. “We call on members of the PDP not to be fazed by the Judgment but remain resolute as our party takes firm steps to surmount all the huddles and reposition on the path of victory ahead of the 2027 general elections,” they added.