The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has clarified that the recent Court of Appeal judgment concerning its participation in the August 15, 2026, Osun State governorship election was strictly about the nomination of a governorship candidate and did not recognise or legitimise any faction as the leadership of the party.
The party, in a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, said reports portraying the judgment as a judicial endorsement of the group led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki were misleading.
The PDP said the leadership question within the party was separate from the legal dispute over its governorship nomination in Osun State and had already been settled.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the question of who constitutes the legitimate leadership of the PDP has long been settled and was not one of the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs in the suit that culminated in the Court of Appeal judgment,” the statement said.
The party stressed that the judgment should therefore not be interpreted as a declaration recognising the so-called “Turaki group” as either the present or future leadership of the PDP.
It further urged the public and the media to disregard statements allegedly issued by the group, describing claims of recognition as “wishful thinking.”
The PDP also provided details of its nomination process for the Osun governorship election, stating that governor Ademola Adeleke was the only aspirant who purchased the party’s Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms and was screened and cleared to contest the governorship primary scheduled for December 2, 2025.
According to the party, notices concerning the primary election had been communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on October 27, 2025, and were signed by the then National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, and National Secretary, Senator Samuel N. Anyanwu.
The party maintained that the notices were not signed by Turaki.
It said, however, that following the deepening crisis within the PDP from November 1, 2025, Adeleke withdrew his aspiration, leaving the party without a candidate for the August 15, 2026, Osun governorship election.
The PDP questioned how the Court of Appeal judgment could be interpreted as having produced or recognised a PDP candidate without a clearly identifiable nomination process.
The party asked: “What nomination process produced the candidate? When was the process conducted? Who conducted it? Under whose authority was it conducted? When was the nomination submitted to INEC?”
It said such factual and procedural questions could not be resolved through media headlines or political statements.
The PDP added that it respected the judiciary and accepted that any question over the correctness of the Court of Appeal’s decision could ultimately be determined by the Supreme Court, as the apex court in Nigeria.
The party consequently urged its members, the media and the general public to distinguish between the litigation concerning the Osun governorship nomination and the separate issue of PDP leadership.
It maintained that attempts to use the Court of Appeal judgment as evidence that the court had recognised or legitimised the Turaki group as PDP leaders were “mischievous and misleading.”
The party said it had moved beyond its internal crisis and was now focused on rebuilding its structures, strengthening unity and preparing to reclaim power in 2027.
The PDP also called on the people of Osun State to ensure a free, fair, peaceful and violence-free election on Saturday.
It urged political parties, candidates, security agencies, electoral officials and voters to uphold the rule of law and ensure that the election is conducted peacefully and transparently.