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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday hosted the two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to an interactive meeting with a view to intervening in the feud rocking the party.
During the meeting, INEC insisted on strengthening compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the commission’s regulations ahead of forthcoming elections.
INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan (SAN), said that the engagement was necessitated by a number of correspondence received from different quarters within the party, requesting the commission’s intervention on various issues.
He noted that the commission is constitutionally and statutorily mandated to monitor the activities of political parties, in addition to its responsibility of conducting elections.
He stressed that these obligations guide the commission’s actions and decisions, informing the participants that INEC had already issued its timetable and schedule of activities to political parties as part of preparations for the forthcoming elections. That the commission remained on course to delivering smooth and credible polls, he drew attention to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for 21 February 2026, as well as other elections coming up later in the year. He emphasised the importance of early engagement with stakeholders to ensure orderly participation and compliance with established procedures.
Speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the meeting, factional National Secretary of PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu said: “The takeaway from the meeting, I must say, is that we have met a man blessed by God with wisdom. The way the commission spoke to us shows that they really want this party to continue to strive as the major opposition party in Nigeria.”
In his reaction, factional party’s national chairman, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, said they were invited “with a view to looking for possible solutions that will solve what he described as lingering problems within the PDP. We have spoken with him from our own perspective. We have made a presentation of what we think the issues are.”
