The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convened an emergency meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, bringing together several top leaders of the party amid ongoing internal developments.
The meeting was held at the Abuja lodge of Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and was presided over by the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara.
Among those in attendance were Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, former Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki, and the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagum.
Also present were former PDP Deputy National Chairman Bode George, former Minister of Information Jerry Gana, and former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, alongside other senior party figures.
In his opening remarks, Wabara said the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal presents an opportunity for the party to reorganise and move forward.
Earlier in the day, the caretaker committee of the PDP led by Abdulrahman Mohamed also addressed the media, describing the appellate court’s ruling as a validation of the committee as the legitimate leadership of the party.
Mohamed said that following the judgment, the committee is moving ahead with preparations for the party’s national convention, which has been scheduled to take place later this month.
Court of Appeal Ruling
On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgment of a Federal High Court that restrained the PDP from conducting the national convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who headed a three-member panel of the appellate court, dismissed the appeal filed by the PDP challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear the case.
The court held that the party failed to comply with constitutional and legal provisions governing the conduct of a valid national convention.
According to the ruling, the PDP did not serve the required notice of the convention to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as stipulated by law.
The appellate court also found that congresses were not conducted in more than 14 states prior to the convention, a condition required under relevant electoral guidelines.
Justice Onyemenam further ruled that the issues raised by the plaintiffs in the case could not be dismissed as mere internal affairs of the party.
The court therefore upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, which restrained INEC from accepting or recognising the outcome of the disputed national convention.
“Non-compliance with the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and party constitutional guidelines goes to the heart of democratic governance, and strict adherence must be enforced in the interest of democracy,” the court held.
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