The internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has escalated after a faction headed by former Minister of Special Duties, Saminu Turaki, accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of partiality and officially submitted former President Goodluck Jonathan as its 2027 presidential flagbearer.
Claiming to represent the legitimate leadership of the party, the faction alleged that INEC locked it out of the electronic portal designated for candidate submissions.
Consequently, the group was forced to hand-deliver the names of Jonathan, along with its candidates for governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly seats.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing on Thursday, National Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ini Ememobong, criticized INEC’s failure to issue the necessary portal login credentials, describing the act as unjust.
Ememobong said, “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.”
He confirmed that officials at the electoral commission formally received the submitted documentation.
However, the faction faulted INEC for abandoning neutrality, charging that the commission disregarded pertinent facts and existing court orders concerning the party’s executive structure.
The group stressed that such conduct poses severe risks to the PDP’s eligibility in the upcoming 2027 general elections and warned it would institute legal action against any alternative list published by the commission.
The dispute has now broadened beyond party leadership control to the crucial question of which camp retains the legal right to present candidates.
In response to INEC’s non-recognition of its interim leadership, the Turaki-led executive has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Furthermore, the faction faulted a recent verdict delivered by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim, maintaining that it runs counter to binding precedents established by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Ememobong noted that an appeal against the ruling has already been filed, expressing optimism about obtaining a favorable outcome at the appellate court.
The submission of Jonathan’s name introduces further complexity into the contest for the PDP’s presidential ticket.
While the Turaki faction had previously endorsed the former president as its sole candidate, a rival faction backed by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike firmly rejects their authority to nominate candidates.
With opposing factions preparing to file conflicting candidate rosters, INEC and the judiciary now sit at the center of the dispute to decide which group possesses legitimate authority ahead of the 2027 polls.
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