… as Turaki’s PDP insists on manual submission
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the presidential nomination of former President Goodluck Jonathan submitted by the Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Turaki’s camp had insisted earlier on Friday that it had manually delivered Jonathan’s candidacy and the names of its other 2027 general election candidates to the commission, deepening the party’s raging leadership crisis.
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, told Saturday Vanguard that the commission does not accept nominations outside its designated electronic channel.
“Submission is only done on a dedicated portal as stipulated by our regulations and guidelines please,” she said.
But the Turaki camp’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, told journalists the committee opted for manual submission after INEC declined to release access codes needed for electronic filing, arguing the codes were merely an administrative convenience rather than a legal requirement.
“Notwithstanding INEC’s refusal to provide us with the necessary access codes… 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,” Ememobong said.
He said the submission, covering Jonathan’s presidential nomination alongside all governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates fielded by the committee, had been acknowledged by INEC despite the standoff over recognition.
Ememobong cautioned the commission against publishing any list at variance with what his committee submitted, vowing to explore every available legal option to protect the party’s structure.
He said; “hould the Commission publish names other than those lawfully submitted by us… we are exhausting every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our Party is not hijacked or annexed to the ruling party”.
