The Supreme Court has fixed Tuesday for the hearing of three appeals arising from the ongoing leadership crises within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Two of the appeals were filed by a faction of the PDP led by Kabiru Turaki, while the third was instituted by former Senate President, Senator David Mark, who is also a factional National Chairman of the ADC.
The appeals challenge recent judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The PDP faction’s appeals are marked SC/CV/166/2026 (PDP vs. Hon. Austine Nwachukwu) and SC/CV/164/2026 (PDP vs. Alhaji Sule Lamido). Mark’s appeal is marked SC/CV/180/2026 (Senator David Mark vs. Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe).
The appeals by the Turaki-led PDP stem from decisions of the Court of Appeal delivered on March 9, which upheld earlier rulings of the Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the party from conducting its planned national convention of November 15 and 16, 2025.
The lower court had directed the PDP to first comply with relevant statutory provisions, including the Electoral Act and the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
The initial rulings were delivered by Justices James Omotosho and Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suits filed by aggrieved party members.
In the first case, decided on October 31, 2025, Justice Omotosho upheld the claims of three PDP chieftains, Austin Nwachukwu (Imo State Chairman), Amah Abraham Nnanna (Abia State Chairman), and Turnah Alabh George (South-South Zonal Secretary).
In the second case, Justice Lifu, in a judgment delivered on November 14, 2025, ordered the PDP to halt its convention plans until it allowed former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, to contest for the party’s national chairmanship.
Lamido had approached the court, alleging he was unlawfully denied the opportunity to participate in the chairmanship race.
Meanwhile, Senator Mark’s appeal challenges the March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed his earlier appeal in the ADC leadership dispute.
Mark had initially appealed against a September 4, 2025 ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which refused to grant injunctive reliefs sought in an ex parte application filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, an ADC chieftain.
In its ruling in appeal number CA/ABJ/CV/145/2026, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, upheld a preliminary objection by Gombe’s legal team, headed by Luka Musa Haruna (SAN).
The court held that Mark’s appeal was incompetent, noting that it raised issues not contained in the original ruling of the trial court.
All three matters are now set for definitive determination by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
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