The Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has adjourned indefinitely an appeal filed by rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the party’s National Convention held in November 2025.
The adjournment followed indications by the parties to the case that they are exploring an out-of-court settlement.
The convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan produced Tanimu Turaki as national chairman, while a rival faction led by Mohammed AbdulRahman also laid claim to the PDP leadership.
The dispute had earlier generated conflicting court decisions.
Ladiran Akintola, judge of the Oyo state high court, had given the party the validation to proceed with the November convention.
However, in a separate case, Uche Agomoh, judge of a federal high court in Ibadan, nullified the outcome of the convention in a suit instituted by the AbdulRahman-led faction.
Both sides subsequently approached the court of appeal in Ibadan, challenging the respective judgements.
At an earlier sitting on Friday, the appellate court directed the parties to explore amicable settlement after the Turaki faction filed an application to withdraw its appeal.
When the matter came up on Wednesday, a three-member panel of the court, led by Biobele Georgewill, asked counsel for an update on the settlement discussions.
Musibau Adetunbi and Jimoh Mumini, both senior advocates of Nigeria (SAN) representing the PDP, told the court that discussions among the parties are ongoing, adding that efforts are on to resolve the dispute “in principle”. ”.
Sunday Ameh, counsel to AbdulRahman as well as Samuel Anyanwu and Mao Ohuabunwa, said he had consulted his clients, and they are willing to pursue a settlement.
F. Ajiboye, counsel representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told the court that the commission also preferred that the parties resolve the dispute amicably.
Following the submissions, the court adjourned the matter indefinitely to allow the parties to continue the settlement discussions.
Georgewill urged the factions to act quickly, warning that INEC’s election timetable would not wait for the party.
“The court has granted leave for settlement in this matter. Also, the case has been adjourned sine die to allow all the parties to meet, either individually or collectively, to resolve the case pending before the appellate court peacefully,” the appellate court held.
“All the parties involved should be mindful of the election timetable as released by the INEC. The counsel of the various parties being represented here are in the best position to advise the parties that they are representing.
“The court should be duly informed through writing of the decision reached, whether they agreed or disagreed on the terms of settlement. To this end, all the pending motions on notice in this case have been adjourned sine die.”
On Monday, the court of appeal in Abuja upheld the judgement of a federal high court, which restrained the PDP from conducting the national convention.
A three-member panel of the court dismissed an appeal filed by the PDP challenging the jurisdiction of the Abuja federal high court to entertain the suit.
Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who delivered the lead judgement, held that the PDP violated constitutional provisions regulating the conduct of a convention and failed to serve the INEC with a valid notice as required by law.
