By Precious Mark
Some elders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Senator Adolphus Wabara, the Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), have dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a Federal High Court in Abuja over what they described as the commission’s refusal to obey court judgments concerning the party’s leadership.
The development was disclosed in the June 13, 2026 edition of The Umbrella Newsletter, a publication of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026, was filed on June 4, 2026, by a team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche (SAN).
The plaintiffs are seeking an order compelling INEC to update its records and recognise the interim National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP led by Tanimu Turaki.
Other plaintiffs in the suit include Babangida Aliyu, the former Niger State Governor, Prof. Jerry Gana, former Minister of Information, Chief Olabode George, PDP chieftain, former ministers Hajiya Maryam Ciroma, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Dame Esther Uduehi, as well as the PDP itself.
According to the plaintiffs, the names of members of the interim NWC were communicated to INEC through letters dated May 4, 2026, by the PDP’s Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee (NEC).
They said another letter dated May 15, 2026, informed the electoral body of the portfolios assigned to members of the committee.
The PDP elders alleged that despite receiving the letters, INEC failed to make the necessary changes in its records or accord recognition to the interim leadership.
The legal action follows recent court rulings arising from the PDP’s prolonged leadership crisis.
The plaintiffs referred to a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on June 3, 2026, which set aside portions of an earlier Federal High Court ruling in Ibadan that had recognised a factional caretaker committee led by Abdurahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
According to the appeal court, the lower court granted reliefs that were not sought by any of the parties and went beyond the issues submitted for determination.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Babangida Aliyu argued that INEC has a constitutional duty to comply with valid court decisions, including judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
He maintained that the courts had affirmed the suspension of some PDP officials and nullified the party’s national convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025.
Aliyu further stated that the nullification of the convention created a leadership vacuum within the party, which prompted the BoT and NEC to establish the Tanimu Turaki-led interim NWC pending the conduct of a valid national convention.
He also disclosed that letters were sent to INEC on May 8 and May 13, 2026, urging the commission to implement the court decisions, but alleged that no action was taken.
Describing INEC’s conduct as a challenge to the rule of law, the former governor said the commission was under obligation to recognise the interim NWC and accept official correspondence transmitted by the PDP through the BoT and NEC.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that INEC is bound to recognise the interim leadership and update its records accordingly.