Osaretin Osadebamwen
The Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has manually submitted former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential nomination and other candidates’ names for the 2027 general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission. This action comes despite INEC’s refusal to recognise the committee, deepening the party’s ongoing leadership crisis.
The Turaki camp insists it validly nominated its candidates in line with the Electoral Act and has warned of fresh legal action if INEC publishes a different list. Addressing journalists on Friday, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, disclosed that the party opted for manual submission after INEC declined to provide access codes for electronic submission.
“Notwithstanding INEC’s refusal to provide us with the necessary access codes… we have successfully submitted, manually and in full compliance with the Electoral Act 2026, the list of candidates sponsored by the authentic Peoples Democratic Party,” Ememobong said.
He confirmed that the submission included Jonathan’s presidential nomination alongside all governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates, and was duly acknowledged by INEC. Ememobong, however, warned the commission against publishing any list other than the one submitted by the committee.
“Should the Commission publish names other than those lawfully submitted by us… we are exhausting every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our party is not hijacked or annexed to the ruling party,” he stated.
Ememobong traced the leadership dispute to a Supreme Court judgment on the PDP’s leadership, explaining that the party’s Board of Trustees and a requisitioned National Executive Committee meeting constituted the Interim National Working Committee after the ruling left the party without a legally recognised national leadership. He noted that INEC declined to recognise the interim leadership despite being formally notified.
Faulting the Federal High Court judgment, Ememobong argued that the ruling reads more like an appeal on the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions. He said the party had appealed the judgment and would also challenge alleged discrepancies between the judgment delivered in court and the Certified True Copy.
The PDP also accused INEC of abandoning its neutrality, with Ememobong alleging that the commission withheld material facts in court proceedings and ignored congresses it monitored. He warned that such actions were eroding public confidence in the electoral process.
Ememobong further alleged that the PDP was the first target of a broader campaign to weaken opposition parties and entrench one-party dominance. “We were the pioneer target for opposition dismantling and capture… but it has now spread to almost all the opposition parties,” he said.
Calling on Nigerians to defend multi-party democracy, Ememobong warned that electoral authoritarianism undermines democratic consolidation while expressing confidence that the party would ultimately prevail in the legal battles ahead.
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