The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the presidential nomination of former President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2027 election submitted by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki.
Recall the Turaki-led faction had earlier announced that it submitted Jonathan’s nomination alongside the names of its governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates to INEC.
The group maintained that the submission was carried out manually after it was allegedly denied access to the commission’s electronic nomination platform.
However, INEC dismissed the submission, insisting that nominations can only be processed through its designated online portal in line with electoral regulations.
Speaking on the matter, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, stated that the commission does not recognise manual submission of candidates.
“Submission is only done on a dedicated portal as stipulated by our regulations and guidelines please,” she said.
The commission’s position effectively shuts the door on the nomination submitted by the Turaki faction and raises fresh questions about the validity of the candidates presented by the group.
Despite INEC’s stance, the faction insisted it acted within the provisions of the Electoral Act and accused the commission of creating obstacles for its leadership.
National Publicity Secretary of the faction, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the group was left with no option but to submit its candidates manually after INEC allegedly refused to provide access codes required for electronic filing.
“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,” Ememobong said.
According to him, the submission included Jonathan’s presidential nomination as well as the names of candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly positions across the country.
He further claimed that the documents were received and acknowledged by officials of the commission despite the disagreement over the recognition of the faction.
The PDP spokesman warned INEC against publishing any list of candidates different from those submitted by his group.
“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,” he said.
Ememobong argued that the party’s Board of Trustees and a National Executive Committee meeting had constituted an Interim National Working Committee following a Supreme Court judgment that allegedly left the PDP without a recognised national leadership.
He claimed that despite formally notifying INEC about the interim leadership arrangement, the commission refused to acknowledge it, forcing the faction to seek legal remedies.
The PDP chieftain also criticised a recent Federal High Court judgment connected to the dispute, insisting that the ruling contradicted existing decisions of higher courts.
“The judgment… reads more like an appeal on the judgment of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. It is clearly inconsistent with the extant decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal that form the foundation of our case,” he stated.
He disclosed that the faction had already appealed the judgment and would challenge what it described as discrepancies between the ruling delivered in court and its Certified True Copy.
Ememobong further accused INEC of abandoning its neutral role in the management of the crisis.
“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 alleged that the electoral body failed to disclose critical facts during legal proceedings involving the party and ignored congresses that had allegedly been monitored by its officials.
The PDP faction also linked the crisis to what it described as a wider effort to weaken opposition parties across the country.
“We were the pioneer target for opposition dismantling and capture… but it has now spread to almost all the opposition parties,” Ememobong said.
He warned that any attempt to undermine opposition platforms could have serious implications for Nigeria’s multi-party democratic system.
