By Ayo Ayodele
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the Tanimu Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Salim Ibrahim declined to grant the reliefs sought by members of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to direct INEC to update its records and officially recognise the Turaki-led interim leadership of the PDP, which they said was constituted by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
They also sought an order compelling the electoral commission to publish the names of the interim NWC members on its official website, arguing that the list had already been forwarded to INEC through letters dated May 4.
Among those who instituted the suit were Wabara, former Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, and PDP chieftain Chief Olabode George.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, sought judicial backing for all actions taken by the Turaki-led leadership pending the resolution of the party’s lingering leadership crisis.
However, Justice Ibrahim dismissed the case, effectively refusing to compel INEC to recognise the faction’s interim leadership ahead of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal battles arising from the PDP’s internal leadership crisis, which has produced competing claims to the party’s national leadership and continues to shape the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.