PDP Crisis Deepens as Court Victory Bolsters Turaki Camp

 

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken another turn following a Court of Appeal judgment validating the party’s December 2, 2025 governorship primary in Osun State conducted under the authority of the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led faction.

The appellate court, while setting aside an earlier Federal High Court decision, held that the primary which produced Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola as the PDP governorship candidate was validly and lawfully conducted. It also held that Adedamola’s nomination became complete when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) received his Form EC9 and accompanying documents. 

The court further ordered INEC to include, publish and recognise Adedamola as the duly nominated PDP candidate, after finding that the commission’s omission of his name from its February 15, 2026 list was unlawful. 

The judgment, however, did not recognise Turaki as the authentic national chairman of the PDP, nor did it determine which faction currently controls the party nationally. Its orders were specifically concerned with the Osun governorship primary, the resulting nomination and INEC’s handling of the candidate’s details. 

That distinction has become central to the political interpretation of the judgment. The faction aligned with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has maintained that the case did not concern the national leadership of the party and therefore cannot be interpreted as judicial recognition of the Turaki camp.

The rival faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, argued that the judgment should not be presented as validating or legitimising the Turaki group as the present or future leadership of the PDP. He stressed that the question of who constitutes the legitimate national leadership was not determined by the court.

For the Turaki camp, however, the judgment represents an important legal boost. Its argument is that the Court of Appeal has upheld a party electoral process conducted under the framework of its National Working Committee, giving it fresh ammunition in its continuing struggle for political and organisational control of the PDP. 

The faction's National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the judgment confirmed the validity of its primary and criticised INEC's handling of the nomination process. His allegations concerning INEC's conduct remain the faction's claims and should not be treated as findings of the court. 

The Turaki camp subsequently faced another complication when, despite securing the court victory, it decided to support Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party in the Osun governorship election, citing the late timing of the judgment and the difficulty of mounting an effective campaign. 

The development therefore does not amount to a takeover of the PDP by the Turaki faction. Rather, it gives the group another significant legal victory in a prolonged battle in which rival camps are seeking judicial, political and organisational advantages ahead of the 2027 general elections.

For the Woke like-minded camp, the judgment remains an Osun-specific ruling that should not be stretched into national recognition. For Turaki's camp, however, it provides an opportunity to argue that party processes conducted under its authority can withstand judicial scrutiny. 

The latest development is therefore unlikely to end the PDP's leadership crisis. Instead, it may deepen the contest over which faction can credibly claim authority over the opposition party as preparations for the 2027 elections gather momentum.

The Court of Appeal has not handed the PDP to Turaki. But it has handed his camp a fresh piece of legal ammunition—and the political battle over what that ammunition means is only beginning.