The Supreme Court of Nigeria has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the nullification of its 2025 national convention.

Court reserves ruling

A five-member panel of justices led by Justice Lawal Garba announced on Wednesday that a date for judgment will be communicated to all parties after lawyers adopted their final written addresses.

The faction is asking the apex court to overturn the March 9 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which upheld earlier decisions invalidating the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025.

PDP faction argues internal party matter

At the Supreme Court, the Turaki-led group argued that the dispute is strictly an internal party affair and not subject to judicial intervention.

The faction maintained that due process was followed in organising the convention and urged the court to set aside earlier rulings against it.

Lower courts uphold nullification

However, lower courts had consistently ruled against the faction, nullifying the convention and restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising its outcome.

The courts also issued orders affecting access to the party’s national secretariat amid the leadership dispute.

The Court of Appeal had earlier upheld two Federal High Court judgments in Abuja that barred the PDP from proceeding with the convention until it complied with provisions of the Electoral Act and the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.

Key court findings

In one ruling, Justice James Omotosho held that the party failed to conduct valid state congresses as required by law and its constitution, rendering the convention invalid.

In another decision, Justice Peter Lifu barred the party from proceeding with the exercise until former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, was allowed to participate in the national chairmanship race.

The court found that Lamido was unjustly excluded from the process.

Background to the dispute

The legal challenge was initiated by aggrieved PDP members, including state executives from Imo, Abia, and the South-South region.

The cases have deepened the party’s internal leadership crisis, which is now awaiting final resolution at the Supreme Court.