“We shall not support the mockery of our party’s constitution. And we shall never support anyone who disrespects the founding fathers of the PDP”.
BY ADAKOLE IJOGI
It is with a heavy heart that I, adakole IJOGI, a loyal member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), issue this press statement. I am compelled to respond to the uncharitable and utterly unnecessary name-calling and personal attacks recently launched by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, against elder statesmen of our great party.
His vicious outbursts have been directed at Jerry Gana, a founding father of the PDP, and Adolphus Wabara, the respected Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees. He has unashamedly labelled these men fraudsters and hurled other indecorous epithets at them.
Let me state clearly: such intemperate tantrums are not only beneath the dignity of a former governor and a serving minister, but they also cannot change the clear, unambiguous rulings of our courts. The PDP was built on the blood, sweat, and sacrifices of these elder statesmen. No amount of verbal aggression can rewrite the law or alter the judicial pronouncements that have now conclusively settled the leadership of our party.
I present below the incontrovertible facts — the facts that Barr. Wike will never tell Nigerians.
The Chronological Facts
It is abundantly clear that the crisis was triggered by a valid suspension on November 1, 2025.
On that date, the NWC led by the then PDP National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagun, suspended four senior national officers — Senator Samuel Anyanwu (National Secretary), Hon. Umar Bature (National Organising Secretary), Barr. Kamaldeen Ajibade (National Legal Adviser), and Barr. Okechukwu Osuoha (Deputy National Legal Adviser) — for one month over anti-party activities.
This action was fully grounded in the PDP Constitution and became the legal cornerstone of everything that followed.
In declaration of the fact, it is undeniable that the suspended officers staged an illegal counter-move within hours.
Senator Anyanwu, while still under suspension, held a rival meeting, announced the suspension of Chairman Damagun, and appointed Mohammed Abdulrahman, a mere Zonal Vice Chairman, as Acting National Chairman.
On November 3, 2025, Anyanwu wrote to INEC under the National Secretary’s letterhead, despite his suspension, demanding official recognition for Abdulrahman.
It is abundantly clear that the purported NWC meeting that appointed Abdulrahman lacked any legal validity.
The meeting failed to meet the constitutionally required quorum of two-thirds of NWC members because the four suspended officers could not lawfully participate. Consequently, all decisions taken at that meeting were void ab initio — a nullity from the very beginning.
In declaration of the fact, the lower courts affirmed the suspensions and Anyanwu’s expulsion in January 2026.
On January 12, 2026, the FCT High Court (Suit No. CV/1050/2025) presided over by Justice Yusuf Halilu dismissed Anyanwu’s challenge and affirmed his expulsion.
On January 20, 2026, the Federal High Court (FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025), presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, dismissed another suit by Anyanwu seeking recognition as National Secretary, noting bluntly that his tenure had expired in December 2025.
It is abundantly clear that the Court of Appeal cemented these suspensions on March 9, 2026.
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal delivered two decisive rulings:
- It unanimously upheld the November 1, 2025 suspensions of Anyanwu, Bature, Ajibade, and Osuoha, affirming the NWC’s constitutional power to discipline its officers.
- It nullified the Ibadan National Convention (November 15–16, 2025) of the original Turaki-led NWC, holding that the party violated a subsisting court order.
In declaration of the fact, by March 2026 both rival factions had suffered fatal judicial blows.
The Abdulrahman faction was built on suspended officers, while the original Turaki faction was built on a nullified convention. Neither could legitimately claim leadership.
It is abundantly clear that the March 29, 2026 Abuja Convention was illegal, null, and void.
Senator Anyanwu — whose suspension and tenure expiration had been upheld by the courts — proceeded to organise a rival National Convention in Abuja on that date, purporting to produce Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman.
Because it was convened by suspended and tenure-expired officers, the convention carried no legal weight whatsoever.
In declaration of the fact, the Supreme Court delivered the final knockout blow on April 30, 2026.
In a split 3–2 decision in Appeal No. SC/CV/164/2026, the Supreme Court of Nigeria:
* Nullified the Ibadan Convention for defying a court order, thereby dissolving the original Turaki-led NWC;
* Upheld the suspensions of Senator Anyanwu and the three other national officers; and
* Consequently, invalidated the March 29, 2026 Abuja Convention because actions taken by suspended party officers are a nullity.
It is abundantly clear that the Supreme Court’s judgment stripped the PDP of any valid National Working Committee.
By voiding the Ibadan convention and affirming the suspensions that gutted the Abdulrahman faction, the apex court left the PDP with a complete leadership vacuum. No faction had any legal claim to the party.
In declaration of the fact, the Board of Trustees acted constitutionally to fill the vacuum on May 3–4, 2026.
With no valid NWC standing, the BoT — as the party’s second-highest organ under Section 32(5) of the PDP Constitution — invoked its powers to assume interim administrative leadership.
This was not a power grab; it was a constitutional necessity to prevent the party from collapsing.
It is abundantly clear that the 104th NEC meeting was convened in full compliance with the PDP Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026.
The Meeting:
* Obtained the required two-thirds consent of NEC members, satisfying Section 31(4) of the PDP Constitution; and
* Complied with the mandatory 21-day notice to INEC. Notification was given on Friday, April 10, 2026 — fully 24 days before the meeting held on Monday, May 4, 2026.
The meeting was quorate, properly constituted, and INEC was formally invited.
In declaration of the fact, the 104th NEC unanimously appointed a 13-member Interim National Working Committee on May 4, 2026.
The Lawful Leadership Is:
* Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN — Chairman
* Taofeek Arapaja — Secretary
…alongside 11 other distinguished party leaders representing all geopolitical zones.
The Interim NWC was immediately inaugurated and sworn in.
Let me be absolutely direct and unsparing:
The Turaki-led Interim NWC is the only constitutionally and judicially recognised leadership of the PDP.
It Rests On Three Pillars:
- The Supreme Court’s binding judgment in SC/CV/164/2026;
- The BoT’s constitutional mandate under Section 32(5) to fill extraordinary leadership vacuums; and
- A fully compliant 104th NEC meeting with proper quorum, two-thirds consent, and valid notice to INEC.
By contrast, the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led group is a legal corpse pretending to be alive.
Its purported chairman is a Zonal Vice Chairman constitutionally disqualified from becoming Acting National Chairman under Article 47 of the PDP Constitution.
Its founding NWC meeting lacked quorum because four key officers were under valid suspension.
It has no digital membership register as mandated by the Electoral Act 2026.
It failed to submit any register to INEC 21 days before its illegal March 29 convention.
It used a delegate list never submitted to INEC, rendering its entire convention and all elections conducted there a nullity.
Critically, the Supreme Court affirmed that its key officers — Anyanwu, Bature, and Ajibade — were validly suspended and expelled from the PDP. Therefore, the group has no legal claim to the party whatsoever.
Therefore, I issue this final, unambiguous demand to INEC:
Independent National Electoral Commission is bound by law — by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2026, and the binding judgment of the Supreme Court in Appeal No. SC/CV/164/2026 — to immediately recognise the Interim National Working Committee led by Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
Any further delay, equivocation, or recognition of the Abdulrahman Mohammed faction would amount to deliberate dereliction of statutory duty, contemptuous disregard for the Supreme Court, and reckless destabilisation of a major political party months before the 2027 general elections.
INEC cannot be seen aiding and abetting an unconstitutional leadership that emerged from suspended officers, illegal meetings, and fraudulent delegate lists.
Let me add this clearly: the PDP is not just any political party. It is the only legacy party in Nigeria, formed in 1998 by genuine democrats who risked their lives to restore democracy.
We shall not allow this institution to be hijacked by a faction born from suspension, illegality, and judicial nullity.
Recognise the Turaki-led Interim NWC. Do it now.
Delay is denial. Silence is complicity.
Now, let me turn to what I find comical, almost tragic, and deeply ironic.
A man calls himself the “National Leader of the PDP” — a title that exists nowhere in our constitution — while openly supporting and working for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He serves as a minister in an APC government, yet claims to lead the main opposition party.
That is not leadership. It is conflict of interest on stilts.
It is absurd. It is unacceptable.
Let me speak clearly for the replacement generation of the PDP:
The youth, the relentless democrats, the lawyers, the activists, and all genuine party faithful shall not support this absurdity.
We shall not support a man who serves an APC President by day and claims to lead the PDP by night.
We shall not support a faction built on suspended officers, illegal meetings, and court-nullified conventions.
We shall not support the mockery of our party’s constitution.
And we shall never support anyone who disrespects the founding fathers of the PDP.
The Facts Are Immutable.
The law is clear.
The Turaki-led Interim NWC stands.
So, INEC, recognise it now.
…Adakole IJOGI is a member, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
