The internal leadership crisis rocking Nigeria’s main opposition party has taken a dramatic and highly volatile turn as the Conference of Professionals in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) issued a stern, non-negotiable directive ordering all loyalists and factional officials aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to immediately vacate the party’s national headquarters. The high-stakes eviction order marks a significant escalation in the battle for the control of the political party, setting up a potential showdown at the iconic Wadata Plaza national secretariat situated in the Wuse Zone 5 district of the federal capital.
According to a comprehensive operational briefing released by the mainstream party professionals, the eviction order follows a newly delivered, definitive judgment by the Court of Appeal. The group asserts that the landmark judicial decision has completely dismantled and eliminated any remaining legal pretexts, statutory bases, or constitutional justifications for the continued physical occupation and administrative control of the national secretariat by the rival camp, which is actively led by factional chieftain Abdulrahman Mohammed.
The stern eviction mandate was formally contained in a heavily worded public statement issued on Monday morning by the National Coordinator of the PDP Professionals, Comrade Obinna Nwachukwu. The professional pressure group issued an uncompromising ultimatum to the occupiers, warning members of the Wike-backed faction that they must pack their administrative belongings and leave the premises of Wadata Plaza immediately or face an imminent, coordinated eviction through what the body explicitly described as the deployment of "legitimate force" by recognized security agencies and statutory party organs.
Comrade Nwachukwu argued extensively that the highly anticipated appellate court decision, delivered under the official suit file Appeal No. CA/IB/M.90/2026, has fundamentally settled, clarified, and put to rest the complex legal questions and procedural arguments surrounding the party’s protracted internal leadership dispute. According to his structural analysis of the verdict, the justices of the appellate bench left absolutely no constitutional room or legal loophole for any unaligned faction, rogue working committee, or pressure group lacking explicit backing from the party's statutory constitution to continue operating, organizing press briefings, or issuing directives in the name of the People’s Democratic Party.
The National Coordinator emphasized that the authoritative appellate judgment had effectively stripped the recalcitrant elements within the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led camp of any legally recognizable administrative authority or political legitimacy. Nwachukwu went on to characterize their persistent presence within the administrative offices of the party's national headquarters as a brazen, indefensible act of institutional lawlessness, criminal trespass, and deliberate political imposture designed to deceive the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the general voting public.
To justify its aggressive stance, the PDP Professionals provided a detailed breakdown of the specific constitutional matters evaluated by the Court of Appeal during the judicial proceedings. The group explained that the appellate justices meticulously examined the intense legal controversy surrounding the formal appearance and representation of a prominent legal practitioner, Dapo Durosaro, who had filed official briefs on behalf of the political party and Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum—the veteran leader whom the professional coalition firmly recognizes and upholds as the authentic, constitutionally sustained National Chairman of the PDP.
According to the published group statement, one of the primary, high-stakes constitutional questions brought before the appellate bench for determination was whether the embattled party official, A.K. Ajibade, SAN, still retained the statutory executive powers of the office of the National Legal Adviser to delegate legal authority, assign external defense counsels, or represent the party in ongoing litigation. The Wike-aligned faction had previously relied heavily on administrative instruments signed by Ajibade to justify their control over party machinery and legal filings.
However, the PDP professional bloc maintained that the Court of Appeal ruled decisively against the position of the faction, holding that Ajibade had completely lost every single ounce of constitutional power, administrative privilege, and statutory authority attached to his high office immediately following his formal suspension from the party, which took effect on November 1, 2025.
Quoting directly from the official certified true copy of the appellate judgment, the group highlighted a critical legal principle established by the justices: "Any exercise of the power conferred on a party official by the party’s constitution, while a suspension subsists, is an exercise in absolute futility."
Furthermore, the PDP Professionals asserted that the appellate court fully upheld and validated the historical decision taken by the party’s 608th National Working Committee (NWC). That specific leadership session had officially transferred the total administrative responsibilities, litigation management, and processing files of the legal office over to the permanent National Directorate of Legal Services, while concurrently authorizing Dapo Durosaro to serve as the sole, recognized legal representative for the PDP and its central national leadership.
According to the analytical statement released by the professional group, the appellate court further observed a critical chronological fact that entirely invalidates any future litigation from the rival camp. The justices noted that although Ajibade’s initial disciplinary suspension was structurally slated to last for a fixed duration of one month, his constitutional tenure of office as elected National Legal Adviser eventually expired completely in December 2025.
Unquestionably, the court concluded that any subsequent claim, public pronouncement, or legal brief originating from his office after that date was entirely untenable, void, and unrecognized by law. With the judiciary having cleared the legal fog, the PDP Professionals warn that the time for political games has expired, and Wadata Plaza must be returned to its constitutional administrators without delay.
