Turaki-Led PDP Faction Insists Jonathan Will Be on 2027 Ballot

The Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, says it has submitted former President Goodluck Jonathan’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The National Publicity Secretary of the INWC, Ini Ememobong, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday. He said the submission, done manually, also covered the faction’s governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates.

Ememobong said INEC declined to provide the electronic access codes needed for the standard submission process, forcing the faction to submit its list on paper instead. He described the codes as an administrative convenience rather than a legal requirement, and maintained that the manual submission complies with the Electoral Act 2026. He said INEC acknowledged receipt of the documents.

According to Ememobong, the faction considers itself the authentic leadership of the PDP, a position it traces to a Supreme Court judgment it says left the party without a recognised national leadership structure. He said this prompted the party’s Board of Trustees, along with a member-requisitioned National Executive Committee, to set up the interim working committee.

The Turaki-led faction warned that it would take legal action if INEC publishes a candidate list that differs from the one it submitted.

The PDP has been split for months between two rival camps. The Turaki-led faction adopted Jonathan as its presidential candidate at a special convention in Abuja in May, where delegates ratified his nomination by voice vote in his absence. His certificate of return was received on his behalf by Bayelsa State lawmaker Fred Agbedi. Jonathan has not publicly commented on the nomination.

A rival faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, has nominated Senator Sandy Onor as its presidential candidate. INEC currently recognises the Wike-aligned camp as the party’s leadership, and a Businessday report from early July said the electoral body had handed that group the access codes to upload its candidate list.

The Turaki camp disputes INEC’s recognition of the rival group and says it has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge it.

INEC is expected to publish the final list of candidates for the 2027 election. The Turaki-led faction has said it will challenge the outcome in court if the list does not reflect the candidates it submitted, including Jonathan’s nomination. The dispute over which faction holds legitimate authority to nominate PDP candidates remains before the courts.