Wike, Makinde, Mark Know Fate as Apex Court Reserves Verdict in PDP, ADC Crises
• Opposition charges members to be hopeful
•Wike faction fixes prices for presidential, guber forms at N51m, N21m, primaries for May 18, 27
• Court grants Turaki N100m bail for alleged false information
•Group accuses FCT minister, Anyanwu of copying APC’s election guidelines
Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Supreme Court, yesterday, reserved judgements in the appeals filed by two major opposition political parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), following their protracted leadership crises.
A five-member panel of justices of the apex court reserved the date for judgement in the different appeals shortly after lawyers representing parties adopted their processes as their briefs of argument for and against the appeals.
In the case of PDP, the battle is between a faction said to be loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the mainstream led by Oyo State Governor ‘Seyi Makinde.
The legal battle stems from the conduct of the PDP national convention in Ibadan last year, which produced the Tanimu Turaki-led national executive.
While Austin Nwachukwu and two other PDP chieftains had dragged the Ambassador Iliya Damagum-led national executive before Justice James Omotosho, over alleged noncompliance with the party’s guidelines as well as the Electoral Act in the conduct of the PDP convention, a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, dragged the party before Justice Peter Lifu of the same Federal High Court, to challenge his exclusion from the convention.
In ADC, the battle is between the Senator David Mark national leadership and a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe.
The apex court had last week ordered accelerated hearing in all the appeals and fixed April 22, for hearing.
At yesterday’s proceedings, when the appeal between the Turaki executive of PDP and Lamido was called, Paul Erokoro, SAN, who represented the appellant, urged the apex court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the Ibadan convention on the grounds that the convention was held in disobedience to the orders of a Federal High Court.
However, Lamido through his lawyer, Ewere Aliemeke, urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal in its entirety for lack of merit.
The same plea was made by O. A. Adeyemi, who represented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN, who represented the third to fifth respondents.
Daudu urged the apex court to hold that the appeal did not fall within the spheres of internal matters of political parties.
In the other PDP matter against Nwachukwu and two others, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, who argued the appeal for PDP, submitted that the two lower courts granted orders against the party’s convention without jurisdiction.
Uche urged the apex court to set aside the two judgements and hold that the lower courts erred in assuming jurisdiction in the internal matters of PDP.
For ADC, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, who represented Mark, in urging the court to allow the appeal, submitted that the apex court had in a March 21, 2025 judgement put an end to the issue before the court, when it held, “No court has jurisdiction to entertain cases bordering on internal affairs of political parties.”
Okutepa, therefore, urged the apex court to allow the appeal and hold that the trial court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain a suit bordering on ADC’s internal matters.
Robert Emukpero, SAN, who represented the first respondent, Gombe, urged the apex court to reject the appeal and affirm the judgement of the lower court, which held that the case of the appellant was premature and dismissed it.
After taking arguments from all parties, Justice Mohammed Garba, who presided over the proceedings, announced that judgement was reserved to a date that would be communicated to parties.
The Turaki PDP had approached the apex court to challenge the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the Ibadan convention for being held in disobedience of a valid order of court.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had last year, in a judgement, restrained the Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) from proceeding with the convention slated for November 15 and 16, 2026, in Ibadan.
Lifu, in his judgement, ordered that the convention should not hold until an aspirant to the office of national chairman, Lamido, was given the opportunity to purchase interest and nomination forms to enable him participate in the convention for the election of national officers.
The party, however, went ahead to conduct the convention.
PDP had predicated its conduct of the convention on the fact that the court lacked the jurisdiction to stop the convention, as the issue brought before it was an internal matter of PDP, which no court had jurisdiction to delve into.
But the appellate court, last month, disagreed that the issue at the trial court was an internal affair of a political party, which courts could not entertain.
A three-member panel of the appellate court subsequently nullified the outcome of the convention for being held in disobedience to the orders of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Dissatisfied, PDP approached the apex court, praying it to accept the appeal against the lower court judgement, set aside the judgement, and hold that the issue was an internal matter of PDP, which both the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain.
In the ADC case, the appellate court had last month, while ruling in the appeal filed by the Mark-led leadership against the ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered the maintenance of status quo ante bellum.
Based on the ruling, INEC withdrew the recognition accorded the Mark-led executive as authentic leadership of ADC.
Meanwhile, Justice Emeka Nwite declined to issue a restraining order against the Mark-led leadership but, instead, ordered the applicant to put the defendants on notice.
Reacting, Mark approached the appellate court to challenge the jurisdiction of Nwite to entertain the suit by Gombe, in the first place.
Mark insisted that the trial court could not entertain the suit for being an internal matter of ADC.
PDP Charges Members to Keep Hope Alive
PDP told members not to lose hope, but to keep faith alive.
In a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Emeombong, the party said, “We charge all true and uncompromised PDP members to keep their faith alive, in the unwavering hope that the apex court will deliver judgments that will preserve multi-party democracy and prevent the imminent enthronement of a one-party state.
“The Supreme Court has, at several times in the history of our non-linear democratic experience, remained the last hope of Nigeria and Nigerians, even in the face of immense pressure and unimaginable risk.”
According to Emeombong, “The appeals and cross-appeals arising from the judgements of the Court of Appeal, as well as those of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, delivered by Justices Omotosho and Lifu, were heard today by the Supreme Court. The court has reserved judgement to a later date.
“It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal upheld the judgments of Justices Omotosho and Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, and consequently nullified the convention of the Party held in Ibadan.”
Emeombong stated, “The court also upheld the suspension of A.K. Ajibade, SAN, and other former officers of the party, including Sen. Samuel Anyanwu.
“Dissatisfied with the judgement, the party appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that both the trial court and the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, same being a suit emanating from the internal affairs of the party.
“Also dissatisfied, the respondents (Sen. Samuel Anyanwu and others) filed a cross-appeal, seeking to set aside the decision of the court as it relates to the suspension of A.K. Ajibade, SAN, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, and others.”
He explained that the Supreme Court heard the appeals, with all parties adopting their respective processes, and thereafter reserved judgement to a date to be communicated to counsel.
Wike-backed PDP Fixes Presidential Form at N51m, Governorship at N21m
A faction of PDP aligned with Wike pegged its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at N51 million and the governorship form at N21 million ahead of the 2027 elections.
The faction’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, revealed the details in an election timetable released to journalists yesterday.
According to the schedule, the group plans to submit its membership register to INEC on April 21, 2026, and formally notify the commission of its primaries a day later.
The document indicated that the cost of expression of interest form for all offices was N1 million, while nomination fees differed depending on the position being contested.
House of Assembly aspirants were to pay N2 million, House of Representatives N3 million, Senate N5 million, governorship N20 million, and presidential hopefuls N50 million.
The sale of forms was slated to commence on April 27 and end on May 4, with May 9 set as the deadline for submission of completed applications.
Screening for state Assembly, National Assembly, and governorship aspirants will take place on May 11, while presidential aspirants will be screened on May 12.
The presidential primary is scheduled for May 18, while governorship primaries will hold on May 27. Primaries for House of Representatives was fixed for May 21, Senate primaries May 23, and state Assembly primaries between May 21 and May 24.
All appeals were expected to be concluded by May 30, 2026.
Bature added that female aspirants would only be required to pay the expression of interest fee for their chosen positions.
Court Grants Turaki N100m Bail
Justice Peter Kekemeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja, yesterday, admitted Tanimu Turaki, SAN, to bail in the sum of N100million.
Kekemeke granted the defendant bail, shortly after his arraignment by the Inspector General (IG) of Police on allegations bordering on giving false information to the police.
According to the charge, the defendant committed the alleged offence through a petition on his letterhead, dated October 5, 2022, which he signed against one Saidi Mohammed Mainasara with intent to use the lawful power of the IGP to the injury or annoyance of the said Mainasara.
The offence is punishable under Section 140 of the Penal Code Law.
But he pleaded not guilty to the charge read against him.
Prosecution counsel, Usman Rabiu, then asked the court to give a date for the prosecution to commencement of trial.
Responding, Turaki’s lawyer, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, SAN, drew the court’s attention to three different motions they filed before the court, including the one seeking bail for the defendant, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
He cited various provisions of the law in support of the bail application, and urged the court to admit Turaki to bail on self-recognisance.
The defence counsel stated that Turaki was an elder statesman, a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a respected community leader with various chieftaincy titles.
He added that Turaki, a legal practitioner of over 40 years’ practice, 20 of which he had been a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the authentic leader of PDP.
Opposing the application, the prosecution, while observing that bail was at the discretion of the court, urged the judge to consider the provisions of Section 162 of ACJA in doing so.
Ruling on the bail application, Kekemeke held that bail was not only granted at the discretion of the court but it was als a fundamental right issue.
The judge held that though a bench warrant was issued by the court against the defendant but (Turaki) appeared in court before the warrant was executed, which made the court to eventually vacate the order.
The court held that the prosecution did not place sufficient reasons before the court for it not to grant the defendant bail and as such the court would grant bail to the defendant.
Kekemeke, therefore, admitted Turaki to bail in the sum of N100 million with one surety in like sum. The surety, according to the judge, had to be a SAN of not less than 20 years of practice or a lawyer of over 40 years of practice.
He then adjourned the case to June 11 for hearing.
Group Accuses Wike, Anyanwu of Copying APC 2027 Elections Time Table, Guidelines
A coalition of professional and political watchdog groups under the aegis of Opposition Watch Nigeria (OWN), expressed concern over the supposed 2027 election timetable and guidelines released by the Wike and Anyanwu-led faction of PDP.
It said the Wike-Anyanwu faction of PDP had clearly signalled that it was no longer operating as an opposition entity, but a secondary engine for the Tinubu-led APC.
OWN said what Nigerians were witnessing was the formalisation of a political “holding company” by the Wike-Anyanwu faction, which aligned their timetable so precisely with the APC.
The group stated that upon a rigorous side-by-side analysis of the schedules, it had become clear that the Wike-Anyanwu group carried out a wholesale “copy-and-paste” of the timetable of the APC released about 48 hours ago on April 20, 2026.
A statement by the media coordinator of OWN, Aisha Bello, stated that the level of mirroring between the two documents transcended mere coincidence.
The statement said, “From the introduction, to the commencement of form sales to the specific sequencing of primaries for the Presidency and State Governorships, the Wike-Anyanwu timetable is an operational twin of the ruling party’s agenda.
“Mirrored Primaries: Both groups have effectively aligned their primary/appeal windows for May 2026, ensuring that their internal political cycles do not conflict, but rather complement the APC’s transition strategy.
“Identical Thresholds: By adopting similar high-entry costs and logistical milestones, the Wike-Anyanwu faction has signalled that it is no longer operating as an opposition entity, but as a secondary engine for the Tinubu-led APC.
“The Wike and Anyanwu-led group has stripped away the last veneer of independence. You cannot claim to lead an opposition when your internal clock is set by the ruling party’s headquarters.
“This is not a political party; it is a strategic extension designed to destabilize the genuine opposition from within.”
