A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by former Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki (SAN) has faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission for handing the party’s 2027 nomination portal access code to the PDP leadership loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

INEC provided the upload credentials to the National Working Committee headed by Acting National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed, a move the commission’s National Publicity Secretary Jungudo Mohammed said validates the Wike-aligned NWC’s legitimacy ahead of the 2027 polls.

Reacting, Turaki faction spokesperson Ini Ememobong described INEC’s action as purely administrative. He insisted the commission would still accept candidate submissions from their group, citing how INEC handled parallel nominations in Ekiti and Osun states previously. “INEC will not choose a leadership for our party,” Ememobong stated.

The dispute stems from the Supreme Court’s April 30 split 3-2 judgment that nullified the PDP national convention held in Ibadan on November 15-16, 2025, which produced Turaki’s leadership backed by Governor Seyi Makinde. Following the ruling, the Board of Trustees reappointed Turaki to an Interim NWC, while the Wike camp proceeded with its own Abuja convention and retained Abdulrahman Mohammed and Senator Samuel Anyanwu as chairman and secretary.

Both factions have since operated parallel structures. The Wike-backed NWC has sold expression of interest and nomination forms for 2027, with INEC monitoring those activities. The Turaki group has since filed motions at the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal seeking to halt recognition of the rival camp and bar INEC from accepting only their address and officers.

Source: Punch news.