Nigeria Supreme Court Sets PDP, ADC Hearing for April 2026

Nigeria's Supreme Court has scheduled a pivotal hearing for April 22, 2026, to address leadership disputes in two major opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress, amid escalating internal conflicts that threaten their preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The decision came during proceedings on Tuesday, when a five-member panel led by Justice Lawal Garba granted requests for accelerated timelines in separate appeals from factions within each party. For the PDP, the appellants, aligned with Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, are challenging rulings by lower courts that nullified the party's national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15-16, 2025. That gathering, which installed Turaki as national chairman, proceeded despite court orders halting it over alleged violations of party rules, including inadequate state congresses and failure to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission. A Federal High Court invalidated the convention, a ruling upheld by the Court of Appeal on April 9, which also imposed a N2 million cost on the appellants and affirmed the court's jurisdiction, rejecting claims that the matter was purely internal.