Former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has described his Supreme Court victory in the dispute over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2025 national convention as a “painful victory.” Despite winning the legal battle, Lamido expressed anguish over the deep fractures within the party he helped build.
Lamido approached the court after being denied nomination forms for the National Chairmanship race. The party proceeded with the Ibadan convention despite a court order, producing Tanimu Turaki as chairman. The Supreme Court later nullified that process, but Lamido said the victory came at a great cost.
He accused party elites, particularly state governors who backed the Ibadan convention, of abandoning the PDP and defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Lamido warned that the party is being hollowed out from within as its leadership drifts away after fueling internal conflict.
However, PDP National Vice Chairman (South East) Ray Nnaji stated that the crisis resulted from misinterpretation of Supreme Court rulings. He insisted the party structure remains intact and fully functional, with no leadership vacuum.
Meanwhile, the Tanimu Turaki faction is set to hold its 103rd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and 84th Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting in Abuja on Monday, May 4, 2026. The meetings follow a signed resolution by two-thirds of NEC members, as per Section 31 of the PDP Constitution, after due correspondence with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
A statement from the party noted that attendance is strictly for statutory NEC members, including PDP state governors, National Assembly caucus members, BoT members, state chairmen, national ex-officio, former NWC members, former governors, and other designated stakeholders.
Nnaji’s remarks came after former Senate President Adolphus Wabara claimed the BoT had assumed leadership following the Supreme Court judgment. Wabara argued the BoT, as the party’s second-highest organ, could take temporary control after the court invalidated rival factions. Nnaji rejected that interpretation, insisting it does not reflect the actual judgment.
