Nigeria’s main opposition Peoples Democratic Party plunged deeper into crisis Thursday after the Independent National Electoral Commission recognized a caretaker committee backed by the Federal Capital Territory minister, Nyesom Wike, a move that angered a rival faction aligned with PDP governors.
The recognition came after INEC invited the Wike-backed caretaker committee to its quarterly consultative meeting with political parties. At the meeting in Abuja, Abdulrahman Mohammed sat in a front-row seat labeled “PDP Chairman,” while Samuel Anyanwu occupied a seat marked “PDP National Secretary.”
Speaking after the closed-door session, Anyanwu said the committee had been formally recognized as the party’s leadership, citing a recent court judgment.
“We were invited as the recognized leadership of the PDP to participate in this crucial consultative meeting with INEC,” he said. “The recent court judgment has effectively resolved the crisis affecting the party. The leadership of the PDP remains intact under Abdulrahman Mohammed and myself.”
Anyanwu said the caretaker committee would take over the party’s national headquarters at Wadata Plaza on Monday and confirmed that the PDP would field candidates in the 2027 general elections.
He said a Federal High Court ruling last Friday nullified the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on Nov. 15, 2025, declaring it invalid and barring those who emerged from the convention from presenting themselves as members of the party’s National Working Committee.
Anyanwu said delays in taking over the party headquarters were due to legal and security issues, adding that a court had overturned an attempt by the rival faction to use the police to block access to the building.
The faction loyal to PDP governors and led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, a senior advocate of Nigeria, rejected INEC’s recognition of the caretaker committee and said it was considering legal action.
In a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Ini Ememobong, the Turaki-led National Working Committee described INEC’s action as unconstitutional and provocative.
“We are aware that INEC invited some former members of our party who are purporting to lead a so-called National Caretaker Committee, a body unknown to our constitution,” the statement said. “This action will be met with all available legal responses.”
The faction urged party members to remain calm while awaiting the outcome of pending cases at the Court of Appeal, insisting that INEC had no authority to determine the party’s leadership.
On Friday, a Federal High Court in Ibadan nullified the PDP national convention that produced Turaki and other members of the NWC and ordered them to stop presenting themselves as national officers of the party. PDP governors had earlier endorsed the Ibadan convention and the four-year tenure of the officers elected there.
The leadership crisis deepened in December after the Wike-aligned bloc set up a 13-member caretaker committee, led by Mohammed and Anyanwu, following the expiration of former chairman Umar Damagum’s tenure. Both factions sought recognition from INEC, which initially declined to recognize either side, triggering a series of court battles.
Following the Ibadan court ruling, the Turaki-led NWC said it had instructed its legal team to file an appeal. The Wike-backed faction welcomed the judgment and said it would organize a fresh national convention to elect new party leaders.
Anyanwu said the court ruling and INEC’s recognition had effectively ended the party’s internal crisis.
