PDP Crisis Deepens: Turaki Named Interim Chairman as Makinde Faction Defies Supreme Court Ruling

The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aligned with the Board of Trustees has constituted a 13-member interim National Working Committee, naming Kabiru Turaki as acting national chairman and former senator Taofeeq Arapaja as secretary.

The decision was taken at the party’s 103rd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Monday, directly challenging Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment that had invalidated the earlier Turaki-led NWC and restored the Wike-backed faction as the party’s recognised leadership.

BoT Chairman Adolphus Wabara, who convened the meeting, told delegates the interim committee was necessary to fill what he called a leadership vacuum created by the Supreme Court ruling.

“This structure will guide the party until a proper national convention is held,” Wabara said, before putting the decision to a voice vote that was overwhelmingly carried.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde was in attendance and threw his weight behind the new setup, describing the gathering as a show of encouragement from party elders and founding fathers.

“We as a party, we’re going through our darkest moment right now, because the day is about to break for a new order in our country. We do have challenges ahead of us. Do we have the capacity to take on those challenges and rise above them? Absolutely,” Makinde told the gathering.

Prominent attendees included Professor Jerry Gana, former Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, former Minister of Women Affairs Hajiya Inna Ciroma, former PDP Women Leader Hajiya Zainab Maina, and former Osun State Governor Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

The Wike-backed faction, which continues to occupy the PDP national headquarters at Wadata Plaza and is recognised by INEC as the authentic party leadership, dismissed Monday’s move as illegal and inconsistent.

Governor Makinde also took aim at INEC, accusing the electoral commission of prematurely updating its website to recognise a leadership change in the African Democratic Congress before the Supreme Court judgment had been formally certified.

The PDP has been locked in a bitter leadership struggle since its Ibadan convention last November, which the Supreme Court invalidated last week. Monday’s move by the Turaki/Makinde faction marks the most direct challenge yet to the court’s ruling and signals a worsening crisis within Nigeria’s main opposition party just months before the 2027 election cycle kicks into gear.

Sources: Premium Times, The Nation, Leadership