A fresh twist has emerged in the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, as a faction led by former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, says it has submitted the name of former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The group also disclosed that it has appealed the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which it disagrees with over the party’s leadership dispute.
Speaking in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the faction’s Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong, said the group remains the legitimate leadership structure of the PDP and had the authority to submit candidates for the forthcoming elections.
He explained that the interim committee was constituted following developments from the party’s internal crisis and was communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Ememobong accused INEC of failing to recognise the committee despite what he described as previous decisions of superior courts supporting the faction’s position.
The PDP faction had approached the Federal High Court seeking an order directing INEC to acknowledge the interim leadership, but the group rejected the outcome of the judgment delivered by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim, describing it as inconsistent with earlier court decisions.
“We have exercised our constitutional right of appeal because the judgment is inconsistent with the extant decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal upon which our case is founded,” Ememobong said.
He also raised concerns over the Certified True Copy of the judgment, alleging that it did not completely reflect parts of the ruling delivered in court. He said the matter would be presented as part of the grounds of appeal.
The faction further accused INEC of failing to maintain neutrality in handling the dispute, alleging that the commission had ignored some processes and court decisions favourable to its position.
Ememobong urged the electoral body not to recognise any candidates submitted by other groups within the PDP until the legal dispute is resolved, warning that doing otherwise could affect confidence in the electoral process.
According to him, although INEC did not provide the electronic submission access codes requested by the faction, the group submitted its list of candidates manually and received acknowledgement from the commission.
He said the submission included Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate, alongside candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections nationwide.
The faction maintained that its legal action was aimed at preserving the PDP as a strong opposition party and protecting Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
Ememobong called on party supporters to remain committed to the judicial process, expressing confidence that the courts would eventually resolve the leadership dispute in favour of the faction.
