Follow Us on Google
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Tanimu Turaki led Interim National Working Committee ( INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) said it has submitted the name of President Goodluck Jonathan to the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) as its candidate for the 2027 presidential poll.
The spokesman of the PDP faction, Ini Ememobong, who disclosed this, at a press briefing, in Abuja, said the party has also submitted the list of its candidates for other positions to the electoral umpire.
The opposition party has been polarized with one of the camps led by Abdulraham Mohammed and the other led by Turaki. However, the Mohammed bloc, which is supported by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), Nyesom Wike is recognized by INEC.
Recently both camps coordinated parallel primaries to nominate candidates for the 2027 general election. While the Mohammed camp nominated Senator Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate, the Turaki bloc settled for Jonathan as the PDP presidential flag bearer .
Ememobong, while insisting that the Turaki led INWC is the authentic leadership of the PDP, said since INEC refused to give access court to them for upload of party candidates, the lost was set to the electoral commission manually.
According to him, “we are pleased to announce that 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.
“That submission, containing the names of our Presidential Candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, as well as all Governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates-receipt of which was duly acknowledged by INEC.
“As part of the electoral timetable, INEC will soon publish the names of candidates sponsored by political parties. 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. ”
He explained that recently, a suit was filed before a Federal High Court, seeking an order directing INEC to recognize the Turaki led INWC as the authentic leadership of the PDP. Nonetheless, the spokesman noted that the judgment by the Court seem more like an appeal on the verdicts of superior courts.
“It is for this reason that we have exercised our constitutional right of appeal. It is equally important to note that the Certified True Copy of the judgment was released after considerable delay.
“More significantly, the Certified True Copy did not fully reflect portions of the judgment as delivered in open court. This development raises legitimate concerns, which will also be addressed through the appropriate legal processes.
“We remain confident that the Court of Appeal will provide the necessary clarification and reaffirm the supremacy of the earlier decisions of the higher courts. 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 stated.
