Governor Makinde Present as BoT Takes Over PDP Leadership, Declares Turaki/Wike’s Blocs Conventions, NWC Compositions Null & Void
Key leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, alongside members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC), held an emergency closed-door meeting in Abuja following the Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership crisis.
The meeting, which took place at Bauchi House in Asokoro, Abuja, had in attendance members of the BoT, National Assembly caucus, National Executive Committee, National Caucus, state chairmen, and ex-officio members.
The gathering came shortly after the Board of Trustees, led by its Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, announced its decision to take over the affairs of the party pending the constitution of a caretaker committee.
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has officially assumed leadership of the party following a Supreme Court judgment that affected its existing leadership structure.
According to the BoT, the decision was taken to prevent a leadership vacuum at the national level.
This was made known in a statement issued on Thursday by the Chairman of the BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara.
The statement read:
“It is with the utmost sense of duty and responsibility that the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) assumes leadership of our great party today, Thursday, April 30, 2026, pursuant to the empowering provisions of the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).”
The BoT explained that its intervention became necessary after the Supreme Court invalidated the party’s November 15–16, 2025 National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, which produced the Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC).
The statement further noted that the apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, also upheld the suspension of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Hon. Umar Bature, and Kamaldeen Ajibade as National Secretary, National Organising Secretary, and National Legal Adviser, respectively.
According to the BoT, the implication of the ruling is that all actions taken by the affected officials including the appointment of Abdulrahman Mohammed as Acting National Chairman, the composition of the National Caretaker Working Committee, and the conduct and outcome of the March 29, 2026 convention in Abuja are illegal, null, and void from the outset.
It added that the invalidation of both the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led and Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led leadership structures places the constitutional responsibility of leading the party on the BoT, being the second-highest organ of the PDP under Section 32(5) of the party’s constitution.
Announcing the takeover, the BoT said:
“Against this backdrop, the BoT hereby immediately assumes responsibility for the national working leadership of the PDP as an immediate constitutional remedial step to foster genuine reconciliation, salvage, stabilise, and return the party to good political health.”
The BoT also disclosed plans to convene an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in line with Section 31 of the PDP Constitution. The meeting is expected to appoint an Interim National Working Committee to oversee the party’s affairs, meet timelines in the Electoral Act 2026, and prepare the PDP for the 2027 general elections.
In addition, party staff were directed to resume work at the National Secretariat under the supervision of the BoT pending the appointment of the interim committee.
The BoT commended party stakeholders, including Governors Bala Mohammed and Seyi Makinde, members of the National Assembly caucus, state chairmen, youth and women wings, and other organs of the party for standing firm during the crisis.
It also urged members to put aside personal and group interests in favour of unity, reconciliation, and the broader interests of the party and democracy.
The statement concluded by warning that the PDP has suffered enough from internal divisions and called on all members to embrace peace and chart a new course for the party.