The Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership dispute, saying the ruling has left the opposition party without clear leadership direction.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Ememobong, on April 30, the group said the apex court, in a split decision of three to two, upheld earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court which nullified the PDP national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to the statement, three justices, Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Stephen Adah, and Mohammed Garba, based their reasoning on what they described as disregard for a valid and subsisting order of the Federal High Court.
They held that the appellants acted in contempt and could not be granted relief at the Supreme Court level, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.
However, the minority judgment delivered by Justices Haruna Tsammani and Abubakar Umar took a different position. They argued that the dispute was strictly an internal party matter and therefore not justiciable.
The minority justices maintained that the case did not involve any action by a federal government institution but rather an internal leadership contest within the PDP.
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They further held that courts should not raise issues on their own without giving parties the opportunity to respond.
“With this split judgment, which also upheld the Court of Appeal’s suspension of Ajibade, SAN, Anyanwu, and others, this effectively leaves the PDP as a party without a defined leadership,” the statement said.
The Turaki camp warned that the ruling places the party at a critical crossroads.
“To this end, we are certain that the existing organs of the party will take the necessary steps to salvage the party and confer leadership on it going forward,” it added.
It further cautioned that the situation could have broader implications beyond the PDP.
“This leads the vehicle of our party towards a dangerous bend, which, if not carefully navigated, may not only affect the party but also multi-party democracy in our country,” the statement concluded.