PDP Leadership Crisis Deepens as Turaki-Led Faction Submits Jonathan’s 2027 Nomination to INEC

The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has intensified after the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee announced that it had submitted former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential nomination and the names of other party candidates for the 2027 elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The faction made the submission despite INEC’s refusal to recognise the interim leadership, insisting the action complied fully with the Electoral Act 2026.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the party opted for manual submission after being denied electronic submission access codes by the electoral commission.

“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 said.

According to Ememobong, the submission covered Jonathan’s presidential nomination alongside candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections, and was formally acknowledged by INEC.

The PDP faction warned the commission against publishing any alternative list of candidates.

“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,” Ememobong stated.

He maintained that the Interim National Working Committee was lawfully constituted by the party’s Board of Trustees and a duly convened National Executive Committee meeting following the Supreme Court’s decision on the PDP leadership dispute.

The spokesperson also faulted a Federal High Court judgment related to the matter, describing it as inconsistent with existing Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions.

“The judgment… reads more like an appeal on the judgment of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal,” he said.

Ememobong disclosed that the party had already appealed the ruling and would contest what it described as discrepancies between the court’s judgment and the Certified True Copy.

The faction also accused INEC of compromising its impartiality.

“The Commission’s actions have regrettably reinforced the growing public perception that it is no longer acting with the impartiality expected of the nation’s electoral umpire,” he said.

He further alleged that the PDP was the first victim of an orchestrated campaign to weaken opposition parties in Nigeria.

“We were the pioneer target for opposition dismantling and capture… but it has now spread to almost all the opposition parties,” Ememobong added.

The faction urged Nigerians to safeguard the country’s multi-party democratic system, expressing confidence that the courts would ultimately resolve the dispute in its favour.

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