PDP Faction Submits Jonathan’s 2027 Presidential Nomination to INEC

The leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a fresh turn on Friday as the Kabiru Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee (INWC) announced that it had submitted the presidential nomination of former President Goodluck Jonathan and the party’s other candidates for the 2027 general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The faction said it opted for manual submission after INEC allegedly refused to grant it access codes required for electronic submission, insisting that the Electoral Act permits manual filing of nominations.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, maintained that the submission complied fully with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

According to him, the documents submitted include Jonathan’s presidential nomination as well as the names of the party’s governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly candidates.

Ememobong said INEC acknowledged receipt of the documents despite its refusal to recognise the Turaki-led interim leadership.

He warned the electoral commission against publishing any candidate list other than the one submitted by the faction, saying it was prepared to pursue every constitutional and legal option to protect what it described as the authentic PDP.

The spokesperson explained that the Interim National Working Committee emerged following a Supreme Court judgment that, according to the faction, left the party without a legally recognised national leadership. He said the party’s Board of Trustees and a requisitioned National Executive Committee meeting subsequently constituted the interim leadership.

He further disclosed that the faction had already appealed a Federal High Court judgment relating to the party’s leadership dispute, arguing that the ruling conflicted with earlier decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

Ememobong also accused INEC of abandoning its neutrality in handling the party’s internal affairs, alleging that the commission withheld key facts during court proceedings and ignored congresses it had monitored.

According to him, such actions have fuelled concerns about the impartiality of the electoral umpire and undermined confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

He further alleged that the PDP was the first target of a broader effort to weaken opposition parties and pave the way for a one-party state, urging Nigerians to defend multi-party democracy as preparations for the 2027 general elections intensify.