The Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has manually submitted former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential nomination, along with the party’s governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Addressing journalists on Friday, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the manual submission became necessary after INEC allegedly refused to provide the access codes required for electronic submission, which he described as an administrative convenience rather than a legal requirement.
According to Ememobong, the submissions were made in full compliance with the Electoral Act 2026 and were acknowledged by INEC. He warned the electoral body against publishing any list other than the one submitted by the committee, stating that the party would pursue all available constitutional and legal remedies if a different list is recognised.
The committee maintained that it is the PDP’s authentic leadership, arguing that it was constituted by the party’s Board of Trustees and a duly requisitioned National Executive Committee meeting following a Supreme Court judgment that, it said, left the party without a legally recognised National Working Committee.
Ememobong also criticised a recent Federal High Court judgment on the party’s leadership dispute, describing it as inconsistent with earlier Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions. He disclosed that the party has appealed the ruling and intends to challenge alleged discrepancies between the judgment delivered in court and its Certified True Copy.
The PDP further accused INEC of abandoning its neutrality, alleging that the commission withheld key facts during court proceedings and ignored congresses it had monitored. The party argued that these actions have strengthened public concerns about INEC’s impartiality.
Ememobong also claimed that the PDP is the first target of a wider effort to weaken opposition parties and pave the way for a one-party state. He called on Nigerians to defend multi-party democracy, warning that any attempt to undermine opposition parties poses a threat to the country’s democratic development.
It is important to note that these claims represent the position of the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee. INEC and other parties involved may have different positions on the ongoing leadership dispute.
