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The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki (SAN), today said it had submitted the names of former President Goodluck Jonathan and other candidates for the 2027 general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while also filing an appeal against the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja on the party’s leadership dispute.
The group’s position was unveiled at a press conference addressed in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee (INWC), Comrade Ini Ememobong, who insisted that the party’s authentic leadership validly nominated Jonathan as its presidential candidate alongside governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates.
According to Ememobong, the interim leadership emerged after the Supreme Court’s judgment on the PDP’s leadership crisis allegedly left the party without a legally recognised national leadership, reports The Guardian.
He said the party’s Board of Trustees and a member-requisitioned National Executive Committee subsequently constituted the Interim National Working Committee to manage the affairs of the party and formally communicated the decision to INEC.
He, however, accused the electoral commission of refusing to recognise the interim leadership despite what he described as subsisting judgments of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal backing its position.
The spokesperson disclosed that the group had approached the Federal High Court seeking an order compelling INEC to recognise the Interim National Working Committee but expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment delivered by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim.
He argued that the trial court ventured into issues that had already been settled by superior courts instead of determining the question of enforcing existing judgments.
“We have exercised our constitutional right of appeal because the judgment is inconsistent with the extant decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal upon which our case is founded,” Ememobong said.
He also alleged irregularities in the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, claiming that the document did not fully reflect portions of the decision as delivered in open court.
According to him, the issue would form part of the grounds before the Court of Appeal, expressing confidence that the appellate court would reaffirm the earlier decisions of the higher courts.
Ememobong further accused INEC of failing to maintain the neutrality expected of an electoral umpire, alleging that the commission had repeatedly ignored material facts and declined to acknowledge congresses it monitored whenever doing so would contradict its position in court.
He claimed that the commission’s filings, courtroom arguments and refusal to comply with court decisions favourable to the faction had fuelled public perception of institutional bias.
“The judiciary has repeatedly reminded INEC that it owes every political party a duty of neutrality. Unfortunately, our experience has been otherwise,” he said.
The party spokesman urged INEC to refrain from recognising any candidates other than those submitted by the interim leadership pending the determination of the appeal, warning that any contrary action would further erode public confidence in the commission’s impartiality.
He disclosed that although INEC declined to provide the access codes required for electronic submission, the group successfully submitted its candidates’ list manually in what it described as full compliance with the Electoral Act 2026.
According to him, the submission included Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate as well as governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates across the country, adding that the commission acknowledged receipt of the documents.
Ememobong said the group’s decision to approach the courts was aimed at protecting the PDP from forces allegedly seeking to weaken Nigeria’s main opposition party and advance what he described as a one-party state.
He maintained that party members and candidates remained united behind the legal process initiated by the interim leadership and urged supporters not to lose faith should INEC publish names different from those submitted by the group.
Describing multi-party democracy as essential to Nigeria’s democratic development, he warned against what he termed “electoral authoritarianism”, arguing that credible elections depended on an impartial electoral management body.
He expressed optimism that the courts would ultimately resolve the dispute in favour of the faction, insisting that the struggle to reclaim the PDP was rooted in constitutional and democratic principles.
“With God on our side, victory is certain, even if delayed. We remain committed to pursuing every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our party is not hijacked,” Ememobong said.
