A Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has urged the two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resolve their differences amicably in the interest of the party.

The court gave the advice during the hearing of appeals filed by the factions over the party’s national convention held in Ibadan.

The appellate court, led by Justice Biobele Georgewill, made the observation while considering appeals arising from conflicting judgments delivered by the Federal High Court in Ibadan and the Oyo State High Court on the legitimacy of the PDP convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025.

A faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, had earlier secured a Federal High Court judgment on November 25, 2025, which invalidated the outcome of the convention.

However, in a separate suit filed by the faction led by Taminu Turaki, the Oyo State High Court ruled on February 25 that the convention complied with the PDP constitution and the Electoral Act and was therefore valid. The court also held that Turaki was lawfully elected as the party’s National Chairman.

Both factions subsequently filed appeals challenging the different judgments.

Court Proceedings

During the hearing of the appeal in Ibadan, counsel to the appellant, Fredrick Ladapo, informed the court that a notice of withdrawal of appeal had been filed on March 4.

Justice Georgewill described the PDP dispute as a “family affair gone sour” and noted that the notice of withdrawal suggested that the matter could be settled internally.

The court consequently directed both factions to meet with their lawyers and agree on terms of settlement. According to the court, once the terms are presented, they would be adopted as the judgment of the court.

The case was adjourned until March 11 for further hearing of the appeals seeking to set aside the earlier judgments.

Justice Georgewill also instructed the counsel for the parties to report back to the court on whether their clients were willing to resolve the dispute amicably.

If they fail to reach a settlement, the court said it would either proceed with the appeals or transfer the case to Abuja for consolidation with related appeals.

Meanwhile, the PDP welcomed a separate ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Dr. Oluwole Oluyede as the party’s governorship candidate in Ekiti State.

The PDP’s factional National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the judgment cleared the way for the party’s participation in the Ekiti governorship election scheduled for July 20.

INEC had earlier declined to recognise Oluyede as the PDP candidate, citing alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act. Oluyede and the party subsequently challenged the decision in court.

The Federal High Court ordered INEC to include Oluyede’s name and the party’s logo on the ballot and restrained the commission from excluding him from any activities related to the election.

Reacting to the ruling, the PDP said the court granted all the reliefs sought by Oluyede and the party in the suit against INEC.

The party stated that Oluyede had earlier been presented with a certificate of return by its National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki, as the PDP candidate for the 2026 Ekiti governorship election.

The PDP added that the judgment affirmed the candidate’s nomination and urged INEC to act within the law in the conduct of electoral processes.