Court rules on Turaki vs Wike faction Friday
The deepening leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may jeopardise the party’s participation in the 2027 general election, with candidates for 1,393 legislative seats nationwide at risk as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to close its nomination portal.
With barely days to the deadline, the opposition party remains engulfed in a power struggle between the faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and another led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), raising fresh uncertainty over which group has the legal authority to submit the party’s candidates.
Under INEC’s revised timetable for the 2027 general election, political parties had until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, 11 July 2026, to upload the particulars of their presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
The commission is expected to receive nominations for governorship and State House of Assembly candidates from 18 July, with submissions closing on Saturday, 8 August 2026.
The leadership crisis stems from the battle for control of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), particularly the Office of National Secretary.
Rival meetings, conflicting resolutions, and competing claims to the party’s leadership had deepened divisions, resulting in court actions over which faction constitutes the PDP’s authentic leadership for electoral purposes.
The dispute has also been complicated by allegations from the Turaki-led faction that INEC has accorded preferential recognition to the rival faction backed by Wike.
Turaki-led faction’s cause is further spurred by the Wike group’s declared allegiance to President Tinubu’s re-election bid. Tinubu is the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who appointed Wike as a minister.
But Wike said the Turaki faction of the party is deceiving its candidates by collecting money from them.
Wike, however, noted that Turaki’s move would backfire because INEC had given – what he described as the authentic leadership of the party – access code to upload its candidate to the website.
The FCT minister made these comments during his monthly media chat on the state of the nation on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Wike, “When this thing (crisis) started, and I told the press that this thing that Turaki is doing, he has collected money from people, but it will backfire.
“Why will it backfire? Now, INEC has given access codes to recognised political parties. Have they given him an access code? So, which candidates will he sell forms to? They have given us an access code, and we are uploading our candidates, but you are not uploading your own candidates.
“They will tell the people, listen, there is still hope, and you must be the candidate because we will take legal action. Until the election finishes, that hope will still be there. When elections have not been held, they will continue to give them that kind of hope. So the issue of faction is that you people are making them believe there is still a faction. The mere fact that somebody disagrees with me does not constitute a faction, no.
“Which Secretariat do they have as a party? They don’t attend INEC meetings, and yet you still call them a faction.
“Tomorrow they will say this government is this and that; they are not a faction; those recognised to speak are the authorised leadership of the party.”
LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that in the suit before the court, the Turaki faction seeks a declaration of the party’s authentic leadership and an order compelling the electoral commission to recognise its interim leadership for the purpose of processing candidates for the 2027 general election.
The Turaki-led faction contends that INEC’s actions have placed it at a disadvantage in the race to meet the statutory deadline for candidate submissions. INEC has consistently maintained that it discharges its constitutional responsibilities in line with the Electoral Act, the Constitution and the orders of competent courts.
The suit is scheduled for possible determination on Friday, 17 July 2026, a week after INEC’s deadline for the submission of presidential, Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
