PDP Crisis: Wabara, Babangida Aliyu, Jerry Gana, and Others Sue INEC Seeking Party Recognition

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), headed by Adolphus Wabara, has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The suit seeks official recognition of the party’s interim National Working Committee (NWC).

Filed as FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026 on June 4 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the plaintiffs request that INEC update its records and publish the names of the interim NWC members on its official website. These names were forwarded to the commission by the PDP’s BoT and National Executive Committee (NEC).

The plaintiffs include Wabara, former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, former Information Minister Jerry Gana, PDP stalwart Olabode George, former ministers Maryam Ciroma and Zainab Maina, and BoT member Esther Uduehi. INEC is the sole defendant.

The legal action follows the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn key aspects of a Federal High Court ruling in Ibadan that had recognised a factional caretaker committee within the PDP.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on June 3, the appellate court held that the trial court had granted reliefs that were not sought by any party involved in the PDP leadership dispute. The court criticised the lower court for extending beyond the issues presented.

The plaintiffs seek declarations that INEC is constitutionally required to enforce and implement several court judgments, including those of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, as they relate to the party’s leadership conflict.

They also ask the court to order INEC to accept and act upon all official communications, notices, and engagements from the interim NWC constituted by the PDP’s BoT and NEC.

In an affidavit supporting the suit, Aliyu stated that several key party officials, including former National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, were suspended by the party’s NWC in November 2025 over allegations of misconduct, anti‑party activities, and insubordination.

Aliyu noted that the suspensions were upheld through subsequent court proceedings and that judicial decisions also nullified the PDP’s national convention held in November 2025.

Following those judgments, which created vacancies in the party’s leadership structure, the BoT formed an interim NWC to oversee the PDP’s affairs pending a valid national convention.

He said that the details of the interim NWC and subsequent portfolio assignments were communicated to INEC via letters sent in May 2026. However, he alleged that the commission failed to update its records or recognise the committee despite receiving the correspondence.

Aliyu argued that INEC has a constitutional obligation to comply with valid and subsisting court judgments and urged the court to compel the commission to recognise the interim leadership structure.

The suit had not yet been assigned to a judge at the time of filing.

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