The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the purported submission of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election, describing the move as “illegal and worthless.”
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, said only a legally recognised leadership with authorised access to INEC’s candidate nomination portal could submit names on behalf of the PDP.
His reaction followed a claim by the Taminu Turaki-led faction on Friday that it had manually submitted Jonathan’s name as the party’s presidential candidate.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the faction’s Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong, said the group remained confident that the Court of Appeal would overturn a Federal High Court judgment which declined to compel INEC to recognise the interim leadership.
He said the faction approached the court after INEC allegedly refused to recognise the leadership constituted by the party’s Board of Trustees and a member-requisitioned National Executive Committee (NEC).
According to Ememobong, the legal action was intended to protect the PDP from forces seeking to weaken the opposition.
“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 also alleged that the crisis within the PDP formed part of a wider attempt to weaken opposition parties and promote a one-party system.
“We were the pioneer target for opposition dismantling and capture as part of the pressure for the attainment of a one-party state, but it has now spread to almost all the opposition parties,” Ememobong stated.
Ememobong said the faction manually submitted its candidates after INEC allegedly denied it access codes for electronic nomination.
He said the list contained Jonathan’s name as presidential candidate, alongside 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 expressed concern that INEC might publish candidates submitted by another group but urged supporters not to lose hope.
Ememobong said, “Should the commission publish names other than those lawfully submitted by us, we urge our members, supporters and the teeming Nigerians who eagerly await the candidature of President Jonathan and our other candidates not to despair.
“We are exhausting every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our party is not hijacked or annexed to the ruling party.”
According to Punch, Mohammed, however, insisted that the Turaki-led group lacked the legal authority to nominate candidates or submit any list to INEC.
He also urged Jonathan to publicly distance himself from the faction, warning that his silence could be interpreted as approval.
Mohammed stated, “It is just wishful thinking, and the most unfortunate thing about the whole of this charade is how a respected former president of this country, Goodluck Jonathan, has allowed himself to be ridiculed by this group of recalcitrant and disloyal citizens of this country.
“It is shameful that he has allowed himself to be used, and we maintain that it is good for him to speak to Nigerians so that he will clear his name from this unfortunate charade.”
Mohammed added that Jonathan’s failure to respond could create the impression that he supported the faction’s action.
He further stated, “Jonathan’s continued silence only means that he is consenting to their charade. Whatever these people are doing and he keeps mute, it means he is aiding it, he is supporting it.
“Unless he speaks otherwise, many Nigerians, including myself, will believe that there is an element of consent to whatever they are doing.”
The PDP spokesman maintained that INEC’s candidate submission process was conducted electronically through secure access codes issued to recognised political parties.
“To submit candidates’ names to INEC, you must have an access code given by INEC, and you have to submit these names by using these codes. You have to upload them on a server using these access codes,” Mohammed said.
He argued that the electoral commission did not provide for manual submission and questioned whether the purported candidates emerged from valid primaries monitored by INEC.
“INEC did not prescribe any manual way of submitting a list of candidates. How did their purported candidates’ list emerge? Did they hold primaries? Were they monitored by INEC? Are they even legally recognised? No, so they cannot just wake up and compile names for INEC,” he stated.
Mohammed urged INEC to disregard the list, saying it lacked legal backing.
He added, “I can tell you that the names they claimed to have submitted to INEC deserve nothing other than to be shredded by INEC because INEC cannot deal with any document that is not backed by law.
“INEC is a creation of law, and INEC can only act in accordance with the laws of the land.”
