The Peoples Democratic Party has rejected the submission of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s name to INEC as its 2027 presidential candidate, describing the move by the Kabiru Turaki-led faction as “illegal and worthless.”

National Publicity Secretary Jungudo Mohammed said only the legally recognized party leadership with access to INEC’s candidate nomination portal can submit candidates.

The Turaki faction said on Friday that it manually submitted Jonathan’s name as the PDP presidential candidate for 2027.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the faction’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, insisted the submission was valid. He said the PDP turned to the courts after INEC allegedly refused to grant the interim leadership access codes for electronic filing.

Ememobong argued that the interim leadership was constituted by the Board of Trustees and a member-requisitioned NEC following a Supreme Court judgment that left the party without a recognized National Working Committee.

“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,” he said.

He alleged the moves against the PDP were part of a broader plan to weaken opposition parties and push Nigeria toward a one-party state. “We were the pioneer target for opposition dismantling and capture… but it has now spread to almost all the opposition parties,” he added.

Ememobong said the faction submitted its full candidate list manually in line with the Electoral Act 2026, after INEC failed to provide access codes. The list, he said, includes “presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, as well as all governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates.”

“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,” he said.

The faction urged members not to despair if INEC publishes names from another group, and warned that recognizing any other submission would further damage public confidence in the electoral umpire.

“We are exhausting every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our party is not hijacked or annexed to the ruling party,” Ememobong said.