A faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the Oyo State High Court judgment on the leadership crisis in the party is not binding on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The faction, in a press statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, described the judgment as a mere academic exercise.

“It is important to state clearly that the court that delivered the judgement was the same court that earlier granted an interim order to Mr Damagum and his co-travellers the permission to proceed with their “Amala Convention” held on 15th and 16th November 2025 against two valid Federal High Court judgments,” the faction noted.

It noted that INEC was neither joined nor represented as a party in the suit.

“To say the least, INEC challenged the jurisdiction of the Oyo State High Court, which the court later agreed in a ruling delivered by the judge and subsequently struck out the name of INEC.

“A judgment that does not bind INEC is of no consequence whatsoever as far as the issues at stake is concerned,” the group added.

It noted that INEC had already complied with two subsisting judgements of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which restrained the commission from attending, monitoring, or recognising the outcome of the purported convention.

“INEC has equally complied with the judgement of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, which nullified the said convention and restrained Kabiru Turaki and his associates from parading themselves as leaders of the party,” the statement added.