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), saying candidate nominations can only be made through its official electronic portal.
INEC's Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, confirmed the commission's position, stating that manual submissions are not recognised under its regulations.
"Submission is only done on a dedicated portal as stipulated by our regulations and guidelines," she said.
The development follows claims by the Turaki-led faction that it had manually submitted Jonathan's nomination and the names of its candidates for the 2027 general election after INEC allegedly refused to provide the access codes required for electronic filing.
The faction's National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the group resorted to manual submission because the commission declined to issue the portal credentials, arguing that the access codes are administrative tools rather than legal requirements.
According to Ememobong, the submission included the party's presidential candidate, governorship candidates, National Assembly candidates and state assembly candidates. He maintained that the documents were received by INEC despite the ongoing dispute over which PDP leadership the commission recognises.
He warned INEC against publishing any list of candidates different from the one submitted by his faction, saying the group would pursue all available legal remedies if that happened.
Ememobong also traced the party's leadership crisis to a Supreme Court judgment, which he said left the PDP without a legally recognised national leadership. He argued that the party's Board of Trustees and a National Executive Committee meeting subsequently established an Interim National Working Committee.
He accused INEC of refusing to recognise the interim leadership despite being formally notified, forcing the faction to seek judicial intervention.
The PDP spokesman further criticised a Federal High Court judgment on the leadership dispute, describing it as inconsistent with earlier decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. He disclosed that the faction had appealed the ruling and would also challenge alleged discrepancies between the judgment delivered in court and its Certified True Copy.
Ememobong accused INEC of failing to remain neutral in the dispute, alleging that the commission ignored party congresses it monitored and withheld relevant information during court proceedings.
He further claimed that the PDP crisis reflects a broader effort to weaken opposition parties and undermine Nigeria's multi-party democracy, urging Nigerians to defend the country's democratic system.
