Ogona Anita
The Peoples Democratic Party may be heading into a fresh internal crisis following a split judgment by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which has left the party without a clearly defined leadership structure.Nigerian Political Analysis
This position was contained in a press statement issued by a faction known as the “Uncompromised PDP,” signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Ini Ememobong, in reaction to the apex court’s ruling on the disputed Ibadan convention.
According to the statement, the Supreme Court, in a 3–2 majority decision delivered by a five-man panel presided over by Justice Mohammed Garba, upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal Nigeria and the Federal High Court, which nullified the convention held in Ibadan.
The group noted that the majority justices—Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Stephen Adah, and Garba—anchored their decision on what they described as a violation of a valid and subsisting Federal High Court judgment.Nigerian Political Analysis
“Being in contempt, the appellants cannot be accommodated in the apex court,” the statement quoted the court as ruling, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.
However, the statement pointed to dissenting opinions by Justices Haruna Tsammani and Abubakar Umar, who maintained that the dispute was an internal party matter and therefore not justiciable.
“They held that the case at the FHC was not challenging any act or decision of any federal government agency but the leadership contest of the party, and therefore not justiciable,” Ememobong said.
The minority justices also faulted the majority for raising issues suo motu without inviting parties to address them.
They held that it is not the duty of the court to fish out matters to execute the case for the respondent… parties must be given the opportunity to address the court on matters raised suo motu,” the statement added.
Ememobong warned that the implications of the ruling are severe, stressing that it has effectively created a leadership vacuum within the PDP.
“With this split judgment… this effectively leaves the PDP as a party without a defined leadership,” he said.
While expressing confidence that party organs would act to stabilise the situation, the group cautioned that failure to manage the crisis could have broader consequences for Nigeria’s democratic system.
“This leads the vehicle of our party towards a dangerous bend which, if not carefully navigated, may not only affect the party but also multi-party democracy in our country,” the statement concluded.
