The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Friday to deliver judgment in the suit instituted by the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, over the party’s leadership crisis.
Justice Salim Ibrahim is expected to deliver the judgment at 4:00 pm, following the conclusion of arguments by all parties in the matter.
Hearing notices notifying parties of the judgment date have already been issued.
The court had on July 7 reserved judgment after lawyers representing the various parties adopted their written processes and presented arguments in support of, and in opposition to, the suit.
Justice Ibrahim had informed counsel that the date for judgment would be communicated to them at least 24 hours in advance.
The case was filed by members of the Wabara-led Board of Trustees, who are seeking judicial intervention to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP headed by Mr. Kabir Turaki (SAN).
The plaintiffs are asking the court to direct INEC to update its official records and publish the names of the Turaki-led interim NWC on its official website.
According to the plaintiffs, the names of members of the interim NWC were formally forwarded to the electoral commission through correspondence dated May 4.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on June 4 by a legal team led by Chief Chris Uche (SAN).
The plaintiffs include former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, Board of Trustees Secretary and former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu, former Minister of Information Prof. Jerry Gana and PDP chieftain Chief Olabode George.
Others listed as plaintiffs are former Minister of Women Affairs Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, another former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Hajiya Zainab Maina, Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee member Dame Esther Uduehi, as well as the Peoples Democratic Party itself.
INEC was named as the sole defendant in the suit.
However, the faction of the PDP loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, challenged the competence of the suit and questioned the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.
At the previous hearing, while Chris Uche announced his appearance for the first to eighth plaintiffs, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sunday Ameh, also announced appearance for the PDP as the eighth plaintiff.
The Wike-backed faction, led by National Chairman Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu and National Legal Adviser Kamardeen Ajibade, applied to be joined in the suit as the second, third and fourth defendants.
They were represented by Emmanuel Ukala (SAN).
Joseph Daudu (SAN) also represented former Imo PDP Chairman Austin Nwachukwu, Abraham Amah and George Turner, who sought to be joined as the fifth to seventh defendants.
The applicants urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
Counsel to the plaintiffs argued that the matter required urgent determination because of INEC’s revised timetable for the 2027 general elections.
According to him, July 17 had been set as the deadline for political parties to upload the names of their candidates for the forthcoming elections, making the matter time-sensitive.
All the defendants, including INEC, subsequently filed preliminary objections and counter-affidavits challenging the suit and asking the court to dismiss it.
Ameh, who claimed to represent the PDP, argued that the party never authorised Chris Uche to institute the action in its name.
He said this informed the filing of a notice of change of counsel as well as an application seeking to strike out the PDP as the eighth plaintiff in the case.
According to him, the court’s ruling on the application would determine whether the PDP could remain a plaintiff in the matter.
While adopting his applications, Ameh urged the court to grant the change of counsel and remove the PDP from the proceedings.
Reacting, Chris Uche opposed the applications, describing them as frivolous, misconceived and lacking legal merit.
He prayed the court to dismiss both the notice of change of counsel and the application seeking to remove the PDP from the suit.
Following the adoption of all pending applications, preliminary objections and arguments on the substantive case, Justice Ibrahim reserved judgment on the main suit as well as all interlocutory applications.
The court is expected to determine the legality of the claims by the Wabara-led Board of Trustees and decide whether INEC should recognise the Turaki-led interim National Working Committee ahead of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
