INEC Officially Recognises Wike-Aligned PDP NWC
The Independent National Electoral Commission has formally recognised the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as the party’s legitimate leadership.
The commission updated its official website on Monday to reflect the development, listing Abdulrahman Mohammed as National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary, alongside other national officers . The recognition came barely 24 hours after the faction conducted its national convention at the velodrome of the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, where over 2,000 delegates participated in electing the new leadership through a consensus process .
In a related judgment delivered on Monday, the Federal High Court in Abuja restrained the rival faction led by former minister Tanimu Turaki (SAN) from accessing the PDP national secretariat at Wadata Plaza . Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ordered security agencies, including the police and the Department of State Services, to provide adequate protection for the Wike-aligned faction in their use of the facility.
The judge held that the convention conducted by the Turaki-led faction on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan, violated Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution and subsisting court orders . She declared, “All proceedings, resolutions and decisions taken at the said convention, including the suspension of members of the first plaintiff, were unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void, and of no effect.”
The Turaki-led faction has indicated it will appeal the judgment. In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the group said it has taken the leadership dispute to the Supreme Court for final resolution . The statement described the Wike-backed convention as “a pre-Easter jamboree of APC sympathisers” conducted in contempt of the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal had on March 9 upheld a Federal High Court decision nullifying the Ibadan convention. The Supreme Court is now expected to have the final say on the protracted leadership crisis that has split Nigeria’s main opposition party for nearly three years .