Court adjourns Wabara-led PDP BoT suit against INEC to July 7

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 7 for the hearing of a suit filed by Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Adolphus Wabara, former Senate President seeking an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the party’s Kabir Turaki-led interim National Working Committee (NWC).

Justice Salim Ibrahim adjourned the matter on Tuesday to allow parties to file and exchange their processes. He directed that all pending applications, including requests by parties seeking to be joined in the suit, be heard alongside the substantive case.

The court ordered all parties to file and serve their processes by July 6 and said it would not entertain further delays at the next sitting.

The suit is tied to INEC’s timetable for the 2027 general election. On June 19, Justice Ibrahim granted accelerated hearing after counsel to the plaintiffs, Gordy Uche (SAN), argued that the case was time-bound by the commission’s election schedule.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to compel INEC to recognise the Turaki-led interim NWC and update its records and official website to reflect the leadership.

They said the interim NWC was constituted by the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and communicated to the commission in letters dated May 4.

The originating summons (FHC/ABJ/CS/1159/2026), filed on June 4 by a legal team led by Chris Uche (SAN), lists Wabara, former Niger State governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Jerry Gana, Olabode George, Maryam Ciroma, Zainab Maina, Esther Uduehi and the PDP as plaintiffs, while INEC is the sole defendant.

Kabir Turaki and Jerry Gana were present in court on Tuesday.

Counsel to the plaintiffs asked the court to hear all pending applications together with the substantive suit, arguing that doing so would save judicial time and enable the party to comply with INEC’s deadline for the submission of candidates for the 2027 elections.

Uche told the court that political parties had begun submitting candidates to the commission and had been issued access codes.

“They said the submission started yesterday and parties have been given access code and we also need the access code too,” he said.

Counsel for INEC and lawyers representing parties seeking to be joined in the suit did not oppose the request for a consolidated hearing.

Justice Ibrahim subsequently adjourned the matter until July 7.

The suit is one of several court cases arising from the PDP’s leadership dispute.

On June 3, the Court of Appeal in Abuja set aside parts of a Federal High Court judgment delivered in Ibadan that recognised a factional caretaker committee in the party. The appellate court held that the lower court granted reliefs that were not sought by any of the parties.

In the current suit, the Wabara-led BoT is asking the court to declare that INEC is constitutionally bound to implement judgments of the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court relating to the party’s leadership dispute.

The plaintiffs are also seeking an order directing INEC to recognise all official communications from the interim NWC and update its records to reflect the leadership approved by the PDP’s BoT and NEC.

In an affidavit supporting the suit, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu said Samuel Anyanwu and three other party officials were suspended by the PDP’s National Working Committee in November 2025 over allegations of misconduct and anti-party activities. He said the suspensions were affirmed by the Court of Appeal, while the party’s November 2025 national convention was nullified by the appellate court, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.

Aliyu further alleged that despite receiving official communications on the constitution of the interim NWC and the assignment of portfolios to its members, INEC had not updated its records or recognised the leadership.

He argued that the commission had failed to comply with binding court judgments and asked the court to grant the reliefs sought.