By Hassan Adamu
A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced that it has submitted the name of former President Goodluck Jonathan to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, despite the lingering leadership crisis within the opposition party.
The faction, operating under the Interim National Working Committee (INWC) led by Mr. Kabiru Turaki (SAN), said it manually submitted Jonathan's nomination alongside those of its governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly candidates in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026.
Addressing journalists late Thursday in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the INWC, Mr. Ini Ememobong, alleged that although INEC acknowledged receipt of the nomination documents, the commission denied the faction access to the electronic candidate submission portal.
According to Ememobong, the interim leadership remains the authentic leadership of the PDP following what he described as a Supreme Court judgment that left the party without a legally recognised national leadership.
He disclosed that the faction had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja after INEC allegedly refused to recognise the interim leadership despite being formally notified of its constitution and subsequent correspondence.
Ememobong also faulted a recent judgment delivered by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim, contending that the ruling was inconsistent with earlier decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
"The judgment reads more like an appeal on the judgments of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal," he said.
He added that the faction had already appealed the judgment and expressed confidence that the appellate court would reaffirm the earlier decisions upon which its claim to the party's leadership was based.
The PDP spokesman further accused INEC of failing to remain neutral in matters concerning the opposition party, alleging that the electoral body had consistently ignored material facts and court orders favourable to the faction.
He maintained that the manual submission of the party's candidates was in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and insisted that the faction would continue to pursue all lawful means to protect what it described as the party's constitutional rights.
As of the time of filing this report, neither INEC nor former President Goodluck Jonathan had officially responded to the claims made by the PDP faction. Similarly, the recognised leadership of the PDP had yet to issue a statement on the purported nomination.
NATIONAL PANEL reports that the development comes amid the protracted leadership dispute within the PDP, with rival groups laying claim to the party's national leadership ahead of preparations for the 2027 general election.
:
