Appeal Court Dismisses PDP Leadership Case After Supreme Court Resolution

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has thrown out an appeal lodged by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) concerning an internal leadership dispute. The ruling effectively ends the legal challenge, which stemmed from a Federal High Court decision that had recognized a caretaker leadership structure as the party's interim arrangement.

A three-judge panel, led by Judge Uchechukwu Onyemenam, delivered the verdict on Wednesday. The court determined that the core issues of the dispute, particularly those related to the party's national convention held in Ibadan, had already been definitively settled by prior binding decisions from both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The court's decision was anchored on earlier pronouncements that invalidated the PDP's national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025. The judges stated that the appellant had abused the court's process in conducting the convention, deeming it null, void, and without legal effect.

The legal battle involved several key figures and bodies, including the PDP itself, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and various party officials such as Acting National Chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman and National Secretary Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu. The controversy erupted following the Ibadan convention, where conflicting leadership outcomes and rival party structures emerged, triggering a series of lawsuits.

This latest ruling follows a trajectory of judicial decisions. Earlier, Judge Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, had recognized a caretaker committee led by Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman and Senator Samuel Anyanwu. However, the PDP appealed this decision. While that appeal was pending, the Court of Appeal nullified the Ibadan convention, a decision later affirmed by the Supreme Court. This affirmation led the respondents to argue that the PDP's appeal no longer presented a live issue, as the legality of the convention had been conclusively settled.

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The appellant abused the process of the court to conduct the party Convention. The Party Convention conducted on 15 and 16 November 2025, is null, void and of no effect.