Former presidential aspirant of the Accord Party, Prof Christopher Imumolen, says the party has been having internal crisis before Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State defected to it.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

Prof Imumolen made this disclosure on Monday when he appeared as a guest in an interview on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television monitored by DAILY POST.

He was reacting to the internal political wranglings confronting the party.

“I have been fighting this battle before now. I went to court, that’s a sign of fight. We have had issues in the party Secretariat where we went there and we fought our issues.

“What I’m saying is that we just kept quiet because in the party, sometimes, we don’t want members of the public to know about our internal issues.

“We have been having these fights. If you check many publications, I have attended a lot of interviews to talk about this.

“So, whether Adeleke came or not, we are in charge of the party and we are doing what we are doing today to save the face of the party. And to make sure that whatever happens, the party remains intact,” he said.

The internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has deepened, with the Kabiru Turaki (SAN)-led faction heading to court over the continued sealing of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, the faction is seeking an order compelling the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force to immediately unseal and vacate the PDP national headquarters, as well as all other party offices across the country.

Court filings show that the request is contained in a Motion on Notice brought by the plaintiffs through their lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN).

The application asked the court to issue a mandatory injunction directing the police to remove all barricades and withdraw from the party’s offices without delay.

The PDP national secretariat was sealed in November following violent clashes between two rival factions of the party one led by Turaki and the other aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Tension escalated after both factions fixed meetings at the headquarters on the same day, prompting police intervention.

Tear gas was reportedly deployed before the premises were locked and cordoned off with barbed wire.

As a result of the closure, the Turaki-led National Working Committee was unable to hold its postponed inaugural meeting at the secretariat.

Turaki had emerged as national chairman at the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November.

However, the Wike-aligned faction rejected the convention, arguing that it breached existing court orders restraining the PDP from holding the exercise.

Ahead of the convention, Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had issued orders stopping the PDP from conducting its scheduled November 15 and 16, 2025 convention.

Despite this, a High Court in Ibadan later granted an ex parte order allowing the party to proceed.

At the Ibadan convention, the party announced the expulsion of Wike, the embattled national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, the factional chairman Mohammed Abdulrahman, and eight others over alleged anti-party activities.

In the fresh suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/252/2025, the PDP, alongside Turaki and the chairman of its Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, asked the court to restrain the police from further interference in the party’s affairs.

The Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force are listed as defendants.

The plaintiffs specifically sought an order compelling the police to immediately remove all barricades, unseal and vacate the PDP national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, and its annex, Legacy House in Maitama, pending the determination of the suit.

They also requested an order restraining the police from sealing, occupying or restricting access to any PDP office nationwide during the pendency of the case.

In their arguments, the plaintiffs contended that the police acted without lawful authority when they sealed and occupied the party’s offices from November 18, 2025, and have remained there since.

They maintained that Turaki and Wabara are principal officers charged with the party’s administration and management.

An affidavit in support of the motion was sworn to by the PDP national secretary, Taofik Arapaja, who stated that the party held its elective national convention in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, 2025, where new officers, including Turaki as national chairman, were elected.

He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission was duly notified of the outcome on November 17, 2025.

Arapaja explained that the party merely informed security agencies, including the police and the Department of State Services, of an emergency stakeholders’ meeting scheduled for November 18, 2025, and requested security coverage.

Instead, he alleged, a large contingent of police officers led by the FCT Commissioner of Police stormed the secretariat, fired over 200 tear gas canisters and sealed the premises.

He further claimed that party officials, staff and visiting governors, including those of Bauchi and Oyo states, were denied access to the building.

According to the affidavit, the police action was taken without any valid court order and amounted to an unlawful occupation of PDP property.

The party argued that the prolonged closure of its secretariat has severely disrupted its operations, including administrative coordination, policy formulation, membership management and preparations for future elections.

The plaintiffs also insisted that the police, as an institution established under the Nigeria Police Act 2020, must not act in a partisan manner.

They urged the court to grant the application, arguing that the balance of convenience favours the PDP and that monetary compensation would not adequately remedy the damage if the reliefs are refused.

Granting the application, they maintained, would serve the interest of justice and dispel any perception that the court is endorsing the police action. action is being endorsed by the court.

The Jigawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has strongly condemned the suspension of a former governor of the state and one of the party’s founding fathers, Alhaji Sule Lamido by the party’s Board of Trustees, BoT, describing the action as unjust, vindictive and inimical to party unity.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

The state chairman of the party, Dr Babandi Ibrahim Gumel, disclosed this in a statement signed and made available to journalists on Saturday.

According to the statement, the Jigawa PDP received news of Lamido’s suspension with “profound shock and disappointment”.

The statement added that the suspension, which was reportedly based on allegations that Lamido attended meetings capable of undermining party unity, amounts to an affront to justice, internal democracy and the reconciliation efforts recently championed by the PDP leadership.

The party stressed that the exercise of legal and constitutional rights within the party should not be interpreted as an act of disunity. It recalled that Lamido approached the court after he was allegedly denied the opportunity to purchase a nomination form to contest the position of National Chairman of the PDP.

The statement further noted that the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled in Lamido’s favour by restraining the PDP from proceeding with its national convention until his right to contest was determined.

The Jigawa PDP argued that the suspension appeared to be a punitive action against Lamido for seeking judicial redress over an issue on which the court had already found merit.

The party also faulted the decision of the BoT for contradicting recent public statements by its chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, who had emphasised reconciliation within the party, admitted past mistakes and appealed to aggrieved members to return fully to the PDP fold.

However, it maintained that suspending a founding member who sought justice through legal means runs contrary to the spirit of reconciliation and healing publicly advocated by the party leadership.

The chairman said the suspension was premature and prejudicial, as the matter remains before the courts. He also described Lamido as one of the few founding fathers of the PDP who has remained loyal to the party without defecting, warning that punishing such loyalty sends a negative signal to other committed members.

The party further argued that the action undermines party unity at a time when the PDP requires cohesion to effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. It also insisted that there is no provision in the PDP constitution that allows for the suspension of a “life member”.

The party called on the BoT to immediately and unconditionally withdraw the suspension of Alhaji Sule Lamido.
It also demanded that the BoT publicly affirm the right of all party members to aspire to leadership positions in line with the party’s constitution and the laws of the country, without fear of victimisation.

It further urged the BoT to retrace its steps, align its actions with its reconciliation agenda, and tender an apology to Lamido.

The Jigawa PDP reaffirmed its commitment to a united, democratic and law-abiding Peoples Democratic Party.