A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the manual submission of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the PDP faction loyal to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, described the exercise by the Taminu Turaki-led faction of the party as illegal, invalid and of no consequence.
The opposition party insisted that only its constitutionally recognised leadership, with authorised access to INEC’s candidate nomination portal, possesses the legal authority to nominate candidates for elections, stressing that any manual submission outside the established process is worthless.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, stated that the claim by the Turaki-led faction to have forwarded Jonathan’s name to INEC did not represent the party’s position and could not stand in law.
“There is no provision for any individual or faction to manually submit the name of a presidential candidate to INEC outside the legally prescribed process,” Mohammed said, maintaining that only officials recognised by the electoral commission can access the portal designated for candidate nominations.
The rebuttal followed Friday’s announcement by the Turaki-led faction that it had manually submitted Jonathan’s name to INEC as the PDP’s standard-bearer for the 2027 presidential election, despite the unresolved leadership dispute within the party.
The development comes amid an intensifying battle over the control of the PDP, with rival factions laying claim to the party’s leadership and legal authority.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong, defended the faction’s decision to seek judicial intervention after INEC allegedly declined to recognise the interim leadership constituted by the party’s Board of Trustees and a member-requisitioned National Executive Committee.
Ememobong expressed optimism that the Court of Appeal would overturn a recent Federal High Court judgment which refused to compel INEC to recognise the interim leadership, arguing that the party was left without a legally recognised National Working Committee following a Supreme Court judgment.
According to him, the court action was aimed at safeguarding the PDP from what he described as deliberate attempts to undermine Nigeria’s leading opposition party.
“Our decision to seek judicial intervention was, and remains, about preserving the integrity of the Peoples Democratic Party from those who seek to reduce Nigeria’s foremost opposition party into an appendage of the ruling party,” Ememobong said.
He further alleged that the crisis confronting the PDP was part of a wider political agenda designed to weaken opposition parties and entrench a one-party state.
TNG reports the conflicting claims underscore the deep divisions within the PDP as the party struggles to resolve its leadership crisis ahead of preparations for the 2027 general election.
The legal battle over which faction constitutes the authentic leadership of the party is expected to shape its future engagement with INEC, including the nomination of candidates for the upcoming elections.