PDP Crisis Deepens as Wike Bloc Challenges Makinde Camp’s Ibadan Convention

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to nullify the party’s recent national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The convention, which took place on November 15 and 16, was organised by a rival camp within the party associated with Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde. The Wike-aligned bloc is insisting that the exercise and all decisions taken at the Ibadan convention are illegal and should be set aside by the court.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2025, the plaintiffs are the PDP itself, its Acting National Chairman, Mohammed Abdulrahman, and National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu. They are seeking a declaration that the convention and all resolutions emanating from it are “null, void and of no effect,” and asking the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the outcome.

Conflicting Court Orders and Rising Intra-Party Tensions in PDP

The latest legal action follows a series of earlier suits filed by aggrieved party members who argued that going ahead with the Ibadan convention violated the PDP constitution, internal guidelines, the Electoral Act, and other statutory provisions.

Prominent among previous complainants are Imo PDP Chairman, Austin Nwachukwu; Abia PDP Chairman, Amah Abraham Nnanna; and South-South PDP Secretary, Turnah Alabh George. They had faulted the processes leading to the convention and warned that proceeding in defiance of court orders would plunge the party into deeper crisis.

On 31 October 2025, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja restrained INEC from recognising the Ibadan convention. In a separate case, former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, successfully challenged his exclusion from purchasing a nomination form to contest for the position of national chairman. Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the convention should not proceed unless Lamido was allowed to obtain the form, further complicating the party’s internal preparations.

However, in sharp contrast, Justice A. L. Akintola of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, granted an interim order permitting the PDP to hold the convention as scheduled. Armed with this ruling, the party proceeded with the Ibadan gathering under tight security, despite the subsisting Federal High Court orders and warnings from various stakeholders.

Expulsions, Security Agencies, and Fresh Legal Demands

During the Ibadan convention, the party announced the expulsion of National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, and eight other party chieftains. The move has further deepened divisions within the PDP and heightened the stakes in the legal battle now unfolding in Abuja.

In the new suit dated November 21, the plaintiffs listed 18 defendants, including INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, the FCT Commissioner of Police, the State Security Service, and several PDP officials who played key roles in the Ibadan convention. The Wike-aligned bloc alleges that the convention was conducted “in flagrant disregard” of three subsisting Federal High Court orders.

They are asking the court to not only prevent any authority, including INEC, from recognising the new officers produced by the Ibadan convention, but also to restore their access to party offices at Wadata Plaza and Legacy House in Abuja. They further want the court to compel security agencies to enforce the earlier judgments that, in their view, should have halted the convention.

The plaintiffs are also seeking judicial clarification on whether any person, institution, or agency can lawfully accord recognition to the Ibadan convention in view of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act, and the PDP constitution. As at the time of filing, the case has not yet been assigned to a specific judge, and no hearing date has been fixed, leaving the party’s leadership structure and internal cohesion in a state of uncertainty.