On Friday, 31 July, the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of preventing it from using the electronic platform for the 2027 candidate nomination process, saying it was forced to submit the names of former President Goodluck Jonathan and all its other candidates manually in line with the Electoral Act 2026.
The faction, which addressed journalists in Abuja, said the development has deepened its concerns about INEC’s neutrality as its appeal over the party’s leadership dispute awaits hearing.
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The allegation shifts attention from the party’s internal leadership crisis to the conduct of the electoral process.
The faction insisted that withholding access codes did not stop it from completing the nomination exercise and warned that recognising candidates from another group would worsen public doubts about the commission’s impartiality.
Manual submission follows access code dispute
National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong, said the party turned to manual submission after INEC allegedly refused to issue the electronic access codes used for uploading candidates.
He maintained that the Electoral Act permits manual submission and said the party complied with the law in forwarding the names of all its candidates.
“Notwithstanding INEC’s refusal to provide us with the necessary access codes, which is an administrative convenience rather than a legal requirement, 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.”
Ememobong said the submission included former President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, together with governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates.
The faction warned members against losing hope should INEC publish candidates submitted by another group.
“Should the Commission publish names other than those lawfully submitted by us, we urge our members, supporters and the teeming Nigerians who eagerly await the candidature of President Jonathan and our other candidates not to despair. We are exhausting every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our Party is not hijacked or annexed to the ruling party.”
Appeal continues as neutrality questions deepen
The faction said it approached the courts after INEC allegedly declined to recognise the Interim National Working Committee constituted by the party’s Board of Trustees and a member requisitioned National Executive Committee.
It said those bodies acted after a Supreme Court judgment which, in its view, left the PDP without a legally recognised National Working Committee.
Ememobong said the party believes the Court of Appeal will overturn the Federal High Court judgment that refused to compel INEC to recognise the interim leadership.
He criticised the judgment delivered by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim, saying it departed from earlier decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
He also questioned the contents of the Certified True Copy of the judgment, saying parts of it did not fully reflect what was delivered in open court. He said those issues have also formed part of the party’s legal challenge.
The faction also accused INEC of withholding material facts during the court proceedings and ignoring congresses monitored by the commission, claiming those actions affected the outcome of the case.
It urged the electoral commission to wait for the Court of Appeal to determine the dispute before publishing candidates, warning that any other action would deepen public doubts about its neutrality.
The faction also maintained that the legal battle is not only about resolving the PDP leadership dispute but also about protecting Nigeria’s democratic process.
“Our decision to seek judicial intervention was, and remains, about preserving the integrity of the Peoples Democratic Party from those who seek to reduce Nigeria’s foremost opposition party into an appendage of the ruling party.”
Ememobong also alleged that pressure on opposition parties has spread beyond the PDP and said the party would continue pursuing every constitutional and legal option available while expressing confidence that its appeal would succeed.
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