The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed an appeal seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise the Interim National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The three-member special panel, presided over by Justice Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu, with Justices Laja Balogun and Ruquayat Oremei Ayoola, who delivered the judgment, dismissed the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1221/2026.

The appeal was filed by Senator Adolphus Wabara and seven others against INEC and six other respondents.

The appellants, including the Chairman and members of the PDP Board of Trustees and some founding members, had asked the appellate court to set aside a Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Salim, which refused to compel INEC to recognise the Interim National Working Committee led by Kabiru Turaki

The interim committee was constituted following a National Executive Committee meeting held after a Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership dispute.

However, the Court of Appeal upheld the Federal High Court’s decision in its entirety and dismissed the appeal.

Reacting to the judgment, the National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Comrade Ini Ememobong on the party’s X handle, said the group respected the court’s decision but would challenge it at the Supreme Court.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ememobong said the group remained committed to pursuing what it described as justice.

“We are determined to take our quest for justice anchored on truth to the apex court in the land. It is our belief that no matter how deep the truth is buried, if those seeking it are persistent in digging, it will one day resurface,” the statement read.

He disclosed that the group’s lawyers had been instructed to immediately commence the process of appealing the judgment before the Supreme Court.

“We have instructed our lawyers to immediately file an appeal before the Supreme Court, in the hope that justice will eventually be done,” he added.

The statement also emphasised the importance of a strong opposition party to Nigeria’s democratic development, arguing that the PDP must remain an independent political force capable of holding the ruling party accountable.

It stated, “The PDP, as the main opposition party, must provide a credible alternative to the ruling party and not become its appendage.”

“Democracy survives only when the opposition is strong enough to effectively engage the government,” it added.

The interim NWC urged party members to remain steadfast as the legal battle moves to the Supreme Court, expressing confidence that the eventual outcome would strengthen multiparty democracy in the country.

The latest ruling is another development in the prolonged leadership crisis rocking the PDP, which has been characterised by competing claims over the control of the party’s national leadership and structures