Wike’s Camp Rejects Jonathan As PDP 2027 Presidential Candidate

According to Ireporter Online, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said only a legally recognised leadership structure with authorised access to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) candidate nomination portal has the power to submit candidates on behalf of the party.

His reaction followed an announcement by the Taminu Turaki-led faction, which claimed it had submitted Jonathan’s name and other candidates for the 2027 elections after allegedly being denied access codes to INEC’s electronic nomination platform.

The faction’s Interim National Working Committee National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the group remained confident that ongoing legal proceedings would eventually validate its leadership position.

Ememobong explained that the faction approached the court after alleging that INEC refused to recognise the leadership arrangement established through the party’s Board of Trustees and a member-requested National Executive Committee meeting.

He said the legal action was aimed at protecting the PDP from efforts he described as attempts to weaken Nigeria’s major opposition party and reduce its influence ahead of the 2027 elections.

The faction maintained that it manually submitted its list of candidates, including Jonathan as presidential candidate, as well as candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly positions, after INEC allegedly failed to provide the required electronic access codes.

Ememobong insisted that the submission was carried out in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 and warned that any attempt to recognise another list of candidates could worsen the crisis within the party.

However, the PDP leadership dismissed the claim, insisting that the Turaki-led faction lacked the authority to nominate candidates or submit any document to INEC on behalf of the party.

Mohammed urged former President Jonathan to publicly clarify his position on the matter, arguing that his silence could be interpreted as support for the faction’s actions.

The PDP spokesman stated that candidate submissions to INEC are conducted through a secure electronic process using access codes issued to recognised party leadership and questioned the legality of any manually submitted list.

He also challenged the faction to explain whether the candidates it submitted emerged from valid primaries monitored by INEC, stressing that the electoral body could only act on documents backed by law.

Mohammed called on INEC to disregard the submitted list, describing it as lacking legal foundation and insisting that only candidates presented through recognised party structures should be considered for the 2027 elections.

The dispute has further deepened the internal crisis within the PDP as rival factions continue to battle over control of the party’s leadership and direction ahead of the next general election.