PDP Moves To Stop Fresh Convention, Seeks Supreme Court Stay On Appeal Court Judgment

The leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a fresh turn on Friday as the party, alongside its National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC), approached the Supreme Court seeking to halt moves toward a fresh national convention scheduled for March 29 and 30 in Abuja. 

In a motion filed before the apex court, the PDP and its key organs asked for a stay of execution of the March 9, 2026 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which affirmed an earlier Federal High Court ruling nullifying the party’s 2025 national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State. 

The application, brought in Appeal No. SC/CV/166/2026, is seeking an order restraining the respondents and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from giving effect to the appellate court judgment pending the hearing and determination of the substantive appeal. 

The party also urged the Supreme Court to stop all steps toward the planned Abuja convention, warning that if the exercise is allowed to proceed, it could render the pending appeal nugatory and create a fait accompli. 

Among those listed as respondents in the suit are Austin Nwachukwu, Amah Abraham Nnanna, Turnah Alabh George, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Umar Damagum, Ali Odefa, Emmanuel Ogidi, and INEC. 

The fresh legal move follows the March 9 judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld the decision of the Federal High Court barring INEC from recognising the outcome of the PDP’s November 15 and 16, 2025 national convention in Ibadan. The convention had produced a factional leadership with Taminu Turaki, SAN, emerging as National Chairman. The appellate court held that the party failed to meet statutory requirements before conducting the convention, including valid notice to INEC and compliance with constitutional procedures.

Following the appellate court ruling, the faction opposed to the Ibadan convention insisted that the planned March 29 and 30 national convention in Abuja would proceed as scheduled. A spokesperson of the group, Haruna Mohammed, had said the party had already conducted ward and local government congresses in compliance with the lower court judgment and would continue with arrangements for the convention.

However, the PDP applicants, in the motion now before the Supreme Court, argued that both the trial court and the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, insisting that the apex court must preserve the subject matter of the dispute pending the determination of the appeal. 

The party is specifically asking the Supreme Court for an order staying execution of the appellate judgment, or in the alternative, an injunction restraining INEC from recognising or acting on the judgment as it affects the Ibadan convention. It is also seeking an order stopping the respondents from organising, conducting, recognising or participating in any fresh PDP national convention until the appeal is heard and determined. 

The latest development is expected to deepen the battle for control of the PDP’s national structure, with the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings likely to shape the future of the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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NANS Presidency Aspirant Pays Pupils’ Fees, Donates Uniforms In Akure On Birthday

A student leader and aspirant for the office of President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, popularly known as BABTEE, has marked his birthday with an education support initiative for primary school pupils in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

As part of the outreach, the student activist paid the school fees of selected pupils in a number of primary schools and also provided them with new school uniforms, sandals and school bags.

Akinteye, in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, said the gesture was inspired by his desire to give back to society and support the growth of basic education.

Quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, he said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give,” adding that he considered it appropriate to use the occasion of his birthday to invest in the future of children through education.

According to him, education remains the foundation upon which nations rise and thrive, stressing that every child deserves a solid start in life through access to quality primary education.

He noted that Ondo State, which he described as the cradle of his student leadership journey, holds a special place in his heart, hence his decision to celebrate the occasion in Akure.

The NANS presidency hopeful said his choice to carry out the intervention in the state capital was also in line with his commitment to educational development as he prepares for what he described as the apex and distinguished office of NANS President.

Afeez explained that the initiative focused on easing the burden on parents while encouraging pupils to remain committed to their studies.

He said primary education is the cornerstone of opportunity and urged stakeholders at all levels to invest more in the sector, noting that education sharpens minds, shapes destinies and helps build a society founded on strong values.

He expressed gratitude to God for the grace to impact lives, describing the outreach as the beginning of a broader mission to make meaningful and lasting contributions to society.

The schools that benefited from the gesture include St. Francis Primary School, Akure; St. Martin’s RCM Primary School, Akure; Ebenezer A/C Primary School, Akure; St. Stephen’s Anglican Primary School, Ijomu, Akure; and Muslim Primary School, Akure.

Afeez, who styles himself as “The Harbinger of The Blessed Era,” said the intervention marks the beginning of what he hopes will become a sustained commitment to supporting education and impacting lives across communities.

He added that nothing would discourage him from pursuing causes that create lasting value and leave what he described as “an impact for eternity.”

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Baruwa Camp Alleges Security Agencies Defied Court To Restore MC Oluomo

The leadership crisis rocking the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) took a fresh twist on Wednesday as the camp of Comrade Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa accused security agencies of defying valid court judgments by restoring Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, to the union’s national secretariat in Abuja.

At a press briefing in the Federal Capital Territory, counsel to Baruwa, Tolu Babaleye Esq., alleged that the Nigeria Police Force, with the support of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security formations, acted in open disregard of subsisting court rulings affirming Baruwa as the authentic National President of the union.

The lawyers described the development as a grave assault on the judiciary, the rule of law and democratic order, insisting that what began as an internal union dispute has now degenerated into a constitutional crisis.

According to Babaleye, Baruwa emerged as the duly elected and nationally recognised leader of the NURTW through a lawful electoral process and subsequently secured landmark victories at both the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal.

He said the judgments clearly affirmed Baruwa’s leadership and left no room for ambiguity, stressing that they were binding judicial pronouncements and not mere recommendations.

Public reports had earlier confirmed that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, in November 2024, upheld the earlier decision of the National Industrial Court recognising Baruwa as the legitimate NURTW President and nullifying the emergence of MC Oluomo as national leader of the union. The appellate court was also reported to have dismissed the appeal challenging Baruwa’s leadership and awarded costs against the appellants.

Despite the court victories, Baruwa’s legal team alleged that repeated efforts to compel the enforcement of the judgments were frustrated by state authorities.

Babaleye told journalists that formal letters were written to the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security agencies demanding compliance with the court orders, but the requests were allegedly ignored.

He added that the matter was later escalated to the Honourable Minister of Labour and the Attorney General of the Federation, with appeals for the executive to give effect to the judgments. While the Minister of Labour reportedly convened the parties, the Baruwa camp claimed the issue was eventually referred for legal advice, a step it described as a delay tactic that emboldened those allegedly acting in defiance of the courts.

According to the legal team, after waiting for over two and a half years without enforcement of the judgments, Baruwa on Monday, March 23, 2026, moved into the NURTW national office in Abuja and peacefully assumed control of the secretariat.

They maintained that there was no violence, no resistance and no breach of peace, insisting that the move was a lawful assertion of rights by a man armed with valid and subsisting judgments.

However, the lawyers alleged that the police, which had failed to act on the judgments for months, suddenly surfaced, not to remove the alleged illegal occupants of the office, but to arrest Baruwa himself.

Babaleye said Baruwa was subsequently charged with public disturbance, a move he described as baseless and legally indefensible.

The legal team further alleged that the situation escalated on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, when security operatives removed Baruwa from the office and later escorted MC Oluomo into the NURTW national secretariat under heavy security protection.

Describing the development as the ultimate indignity, Babaleye argued that MC Oluomo was neither a contestant in the election that produced Baruwa nor a party to the litigation that culminated in the appellate court judgment.

He said the action amounted to a coordinated, military style operation designed to undermine the judiciary and perpetuate an illegal occupation of the union’s national headquarters.

Babaleye told reporters that the tragedy deepened when security agencies led by the police and supported by the Army, Civil Defence and others marched Ayinde Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, into the NURTW national office.

He insisted that the development was not merely contempt by private individuals, but a direct institutional desecration of the judicial process.

According to him, when security agencies begin to choose which court orders to obey and which to ignore, the country ceases to operate under the rule of law and slips into the rule of force.

The Baruwa camp also challenged the Federal Government to act decisively, saying the latest events amount to a major test of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s oft stated commitment to democracy and the rule of law.

Babaleye called on the President to immediately direct the Inspector General of Police to restore Baruwa to office, arrest those allegedly occupying the secretariat unlawfully, and order a full scale investigation into the role played by the police, military and other agencies in the March 24 operation.

He also urged the President to publicly demonstrate through concrete action that no individual, regardless of political influence or connection, is above the Constitution.

The lawyers further called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the National Judicial Council (NJC), civil society groups and all defenders of democracy to speak out against what they termed a dangerous descent into lawlessness.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official response from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the NSCDC, the Federal Ministry of Labour, or the office of the Attorney General of the Federation on the allegations.

Likewise, there was no immediate reaction from MC Oluomo or his associates on the claims made by Baruwa’s camp.

The latest development marks yet another dramatic chapter in the protracted NURTW leadership tussle, which has been characterised by rival claims, litigation and political controversy.

In March 2024, the National Industrial Court affirmed Baruwa as NURTW President and disbanded the caretaker structure challenging his authority, before the Court of Appeal in November 2024 upheld that decision.

With the fresh allegations of state backed interference now in the open, the Baruwa camp says it will pursue all legal and constitutional avenues to reclaim the union’s national secretariat and ensure full compliance with the judgments already delivered in its favour.

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