The Independent National Electoral Commission has withheld recognition of Kabir Turaki, SAN, as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, citing pending court cases and conflicting judicial pronouncements over the party’s leadership.
INEC made its position known in a letter dated December 22 and addressed to Akintayo Balogun and Co, lawyers to the PDP faction backed by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.
The faction had formally requested the commission to recognise Turaki and other members of the National Working Committee that emerged from the party’s national convention held between November 15 and 16, 2025.
The commission stated that the leadership dispute remains before the courts and that it could not take any administrative step that would pre-empt the outcome of the ongoing legal battles.
It stressed that the matter is sub judice and that its records would not be updated until all pending suits and appeals are finally determined.
“In the light of the pending suits, your request is prejudiced and cannot be acceded to until the determination of the pending appeals,” INEC said.
The electoral body further noted that in obedience to the rule of law and subsisting court orders, it was unable to recognise or update the list of national officers said to have emerged from the PDP national convention.
The refusal has further deepened the crisis within the main opposition party, which has remained divided since the conduct of the disputed convention in Ibadan, Oyo State. While the Makinde and Mohammed-backed faction insists that the convention was valid, the process was challenged by another faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Prior to the convention, some Federal High Courts in Abuja had restrained the PDP from proceeding with the exercise over alleged breaches of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
However, an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan cleared the party to go ahead and directed INEC to monitor the convention.
Following the convention, the Wike-backed faction announced a parallel National Working Committee, Board of Trustees, and National Executive Committee, further compounding the leadership tussle.
