NO MORE TURAKI FACTION AS WIKE HAILS SUPREME COURT, VOWS NO RETURN FOR LIABILITY DEFECTORS
By Wisdom Acka & Celestina Egu
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and national leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Barrister Nyesom Wike, has declared an end to the party’s protracted internal crisis, stating that the Supreme Court has “finally nailed the coffin” of the rival ‘Turaki faction.’
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, 30 April, 2026, Wike said that the apex court’s judgment, delivered earlier in the day, dismissed all pending appeals filed by the faction loyal to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The Minister explained that the ruling validates the PDP’s National Convention held in Abuja and solidifies the position of Alhaji Mohammed Abdulrahman as the party’s National Chairman, while setting aside a parallel convention held in Ibadan last November.
“The media should no longer refer to a ‘Turaki faction.’ Such a faction no longer exists. The Apex Court has ruled that they were wrong. This confirms there is only one PDP.”
According to him, the legal victory centred on two appeals. One was against a Court of Appeal judgment regarding Sule Lamido, which upheld an earlier Federal High Court decision by Justice Inyang Ekwo.
The second was an appeal against a Federal High Court ruling by Justice Kolawole Omotosho, which had found the PDP’s actions against some members unlawful. The Turaki group lost at the Court of Appeal and subsequently at the Supreme Court.
Tying the PDP’s unification to the turmoil in the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), the minister said the ADC’s “hopes were dashed” by a recent Federal High Court ruling. He suggested those who defected from the PDP to the ADC now find themselves in a legal limbo.
He drew a clear line against the return of certain high-profile defectors. “Regarding those who left our party for the ADC -people like Atiku Abubakar, we do not want them back,” he said.
“They are not ‘natural assets’; they are ‘natural liabilities.” He clarified that only members who left out of confusion about the party’s direction might be welcomed, not those he accused of intending “to bring the PDP down from the beginning.”
Outlining the PDP’s path forward as the main opposition party, Wike advocated for a “constructive approach. “We do not practice ‘opposition for opposition’s sake,’” he explained. “Opposition should call the ruling party to account, not destroy the country. We will not work with the Atiku group to form a broad-based opposition.”
On the alleged suspension of some party officials by the defunct faction, Wike argued that their election at the validated National Convention had effectively lifted any such suspensions.
