The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party loyal to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has rejected Saturday’s expulsion of prominent party leaders at a convention in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

This is even as four state chapters of the party have rejected the outcome of the convention, in what observers see as a revolt against Gov Seyi Makinde’s bid to exert his control of the party.

Over 3,000 delegates gathered in the ancient city of Ibadan on Saturday to elect new leaders for the main opposition party despite conflicting court orders.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on Friday ordered the PDP to suspend its national convention and restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from monitoring the same.

Delivering judgment in the suit instituted by former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, Justice Peter Lifu stopped INEC from supervising, monitoring or recognising any convention conducted by the PDP without including the plaintiff as a contestant.

Justice Lifu held that evidence before the court established that Lamido was unjustly denied the opportunity to obtain a nomination form to contest for the position of National Chairman of the party, in violation of the PDP Constitution and its internal regulations.

The court further affirmed that the PDP was duty-bound to create opportunities for its members to serve by adopting deliberate measures that enable them to pursue their political aspirations. As a consequential order, Justice Lifu directed that the planned convention be put on hold to allow Lamido to obtain the nomination form, mobilise supporters and conduct his campaign.

“An order is hereby made that before any convention is held, the PDP is to make nomination forms available to the plaintiff.

“In the light of the above, it is hereby held that the convention be put on hold for the plaintiff to obtain a nomination form, campaign and mobilise supporters,” the judge declared.

Recall that on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, Justice Lifu delivered a similar ruling restraining the PDP from holding the convention, which was intended to elect new national officers to lead the party.

Lamido, through his counsel, Jephthah Njikonye, SAN, had filed an ex parte motion, seeking an interim injunction to stop the convention pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

The former governor, in his suit, stated that if the PDP is not restrained, the party would be violating its constitution and, by implication, denying him the opportunity to contest for the position of national chairman, a position he claimed he is eminently qualified to seek.

Justice Lifu, while delivering a ruling in the motion, held that the plaintiff’s application had merit and consequently restrained the PDP from convening the event, pending the determination of the substantive matter before the court. He argued that there’s no reason to depart from an earlier ruling delivered by Justice James Omotosho of the same court on October 31, 2025, which similarly halted the PDP’s planned convention and restrained INEC from participating.

However, in a conflicting order, the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan permitted the PDP to proceed with the convention.

Justice Ladiran Akintola approved the convention while ruling on an ex parte application filed by an Oyo PDP member, Mr Folahan Adelabi, and directed INEC to attend and monitor the convention for the election of new national officers.

The conflicting court orders effectively balkanised the party into two factions-one loyal to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike and the other, backed by the PDP governors and other party organs.

During the convention at Ibadan, the party, following the adoption of a motion moved by its former Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Bode George, expelled Nyesom Wike, former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, ex-National Vice Chairman (South-South), Chief Dan Orbih and a handful of others.

However, one of the PDP leaders expelled at the convention, Abdulrahman Mohammed, described the development as laughable, vowing to carry on with his duties as the Acting National Chairman.

Mohammed was named the Acting chair after the faction loyal to Wike suspended the former National Chairman, Umar Damagum and the entire National Working Committee. Speaking with The PUNCH on Sunday, Mohammed vowed to continue in office, stressing that no convention was held in Ibadan.

“What happened in Ibadan was not a convention. It was held in violation of a valid court order. Nigerians should not lose sleep because the PDP remains on course to offer them good governance.

“It is laughable that people who violated court orders would, in that violation, announce the expulsion of party leaders like us. They had no power to expel us in the first instance. All we can say is that very soon, we will continue in the day-to-day running of our party affairs,” he said.

Asked if he would challenge his expulsion in court, Mohammed said, “What is there to challenge? What happened was illegal.”

Similarly, Umar Bature, who until recently was the PDP’s National Organising Secretary, said what took place in Ibadan was an act of illegality even as he vowed to discharge his role until December 8, 2025, when the tenure of the Damagum-led NWC is expected to elapse.

In a telephone interview with The PUNCH, Bature said, “What they called a convention was illegal, and all actions taken remain illegal. There is nothing to challenge.”

In a separate interview with our correspondent, a member of the Wike-led bloc and incumbent Deputy National Youth Leader of the party, Timothy Osadolor, pointed out that the expulsion of Wike and others cannot stand, given that the convention where the decision was taken “Violated a court order.” He said, “Those three or four governors went to Ibadan to entertain themselves. So, all they did there was for the purpose of entertainment. How can they be talking about expelling anybody when they had no right to hold the convention in the first place?

“Out of the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, only 17 states had their delegates accredited for their so-called convention. 17 state chapters cannot conduct a valid convention for the PDP.”

On the way out for the party, Osadolor urged Governor Makinde, who led other PDP leaders to Ibadan, to apologise to party leaders across the country and join hands with others to reposition the PDP ahead of the 2027 general election.

S’West PDP hails Makinde
Meanwhile, the PDP, Southwest zone, on Sunday, lauded Gov Makinde for “rescuing the party from aggressors” determined to hold the largest opposition party by the jugular.

PDP Southwest Zonal Publicity Secretary, Chief Sanya Atofarati, also commended PDP governors for standing firmly with the party to reposition it for victory in future elections.

Atofarati, in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti, said, “The successful conduct of the PDP national convention has restored the confidence of Nigerians who have long yearned for genuine democratic leadership”.

The zonal caucus hailed the newly elected national officers of the party, saying, “With the election of these eminent leaders into the National Working Committee, the PDP can now focus without unnecessary distractions and begin galvanising support ahead of the 2027 general elections.”

He continued, “Gov Makinde has once again demonstrated exemplary leadership and must be commended for saving the party from total collapse. He can best be described as the biblical Moses of the PDP, whose collaborative efforts with other well-meaning leaders have given the party a new lease of life.

“While we congratulate all newly elected members of the NWC, we have unwavering confidence in their capacity to provide credible leadership that will entrench discipline and commitment to the ideals of the party.”

A former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Turaki, was elected as the PDP National Chairman alongside other national officers at the convention.

PDP governors in attendance at the convention included Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Makinde (Oyo), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau).

In August 2025, the PDP National Executive Committee zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South in line with the party’s rotation principle and zoned the national chairmanship to the North.

Ahead of the convention, influential North-West stakeholders endorsed Turaki as their consensus candidate during a series of meetings held in October.

Convention’s outcome won’t stand- Rivers PDP
The Rivers State chapter of the party has lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission for boycotting the party’s national convention held in Ibadan. “It is not for the APC to help them get their acts together. Regrettable as it is, if they want education on how to run a party and how to engage with their members, we are more than happy to undertake a crash programme for them on what to do and how to run their political party,” he added.

He mocked the deepening factionalisation that saw only one camp attend the Ibadan convention before issuing contradictory statements on Wike and Fayose’s expulsion.

Amid questions on whether the APC would welcome the expelled PDP “political juggernauts,” Arodiogbu dismissed any such possibility.

“We have no such indication. We are not under any illusion that this is the case. We don’t even know who to speak with in the body of the PDP. There is one camp that belongs to one group and another set of people also claiming legitimacy,” he said, citing the stand of the Adamawa and Plateau governors who distanced themselves from the expulsions.

Duru, however, noted that the APC would prefer a functional opposition, not a collapsing rival.

“It is the wish of the APC that since we are in a democracy, every opportunity must be given to the PDP to be seen to exist and not to go down. Should they require leadership and understanding on how to run a political party, we are more than happy to send from our ranks people who are well-equipped,” he said.

The punch