2027 Polls: Appeal Court Declines to Recognise Wabara-Led PDP Board of Trustees

The Court of Appeal in Abuja unanimously dismissed an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees led by Senator Adolphus Wabara, which sought to compel the electoral commission, INEC, to recognise the party’s interim executives led by Tanimu Turaki. It upheld the Federal High Court’s July 17 ruling, finding that the appellants had no right to act on the PDP’s behalf and that the appeal was an abuse of court process. The suit sought, among other things, to validate actions by the Turaki faction, including a national convention that named former President Goodluck Jonathan its consensus candidate for the 2027 presidential election. The court upheld N70 million in costs imposed by the lower court and awarded a further N5 million to each of three respondent groups.