PDP Crisis Deepens As Faction Submits Jonathan’s Candidacy To INEC

The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took another turn on Friday as the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee announced that it had manually submitted the party’s list of candidates, including former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential nomination, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The faction said the submission was made despite INEC’s refusal to recognise its leadership, insisting that it acted in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

Speaking at a news conference, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the party adopted manual submission after the electoral commission declined to provide the electronic access codes required for online submission.

He explained that while INEC withheld the access codes, the Electoral Act does not make electronic submission compulsory, adding that the party successfully submitted its candidates’ list manually.

According to Ememobong, the list submitted to the commission includes Jonathan’s presidential nomination as well as the party’s governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.

He stated that INEC acknowledged receipt of the documents and warned the commission against publishing any list different from the one submitted by the Turaki-led committee.

The party maintained that it would pursue all available legal and constitutional options if another list is recognised by the electoral body.

Ememobong traced the leadership dispute to the Supreme Court judgment on the party’s leadership, saying the ruling created a vacuum that prompted the PDP Board of Trustees and a properly convened National Executive Committee meeting to establish the Interim National Working Committee.

He said the committee formally informed INEC of its emergence but alleged that the commission refused to recognise it, forcing the party to seek legal redress.

The PDP faction also criticised a recent Federal High Court judgment on the matter, arguing that the decision conflicted with earlier rulings of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

According to Ememobong, the party has already appealed the judgment and plans to challenge what it described as differences between the court’s decision delivered in open court and the Certified True Copy of the judgment.

The committee further accused INEC of failing to remain neutral in handling the party’s affairs. It alleged that the electoral commission omitted key facts during court proceedings and ignored congresses it monitored, actions it claimed have weakened public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

The faction also alleged that the challenges facing the PDP form part of a wider attempt to weaken opposition political parties ahead of the 2027 elections.

It warned that efforts to undermine opposition parties could threaten Nigeria’s multi-party democracy and urged Nigerians to support democratic institutions and safeguard the country’s electoral process.

Despite the ongoing legal and political disputes, the Turaki-led committee expressed confidence that its position would eventually be upheld through the courts.