2027: Your Manual Submission Of Candidates’ Names Unacceptable, INEC Tells Turaki-led PDP Faction

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has rejected the claim by the Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that it had manually submitted its candidates’ list for the 2027 general elections, including the name of former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate as well as its governorship and National Assembly candidates.

The commission said there are stipulated procedures for political parties to submit the names of their candidates through the INEC portal, casting doubt on the faction’s claim that it was denied access codes and consequently resorted to manual submission.

The Commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Ita-Messi said this yesterday in an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Abuja, in response to the claim by the Turaki-led faction.

Ita-Messi, however, said she was unable to confirm whether the faction had submitted its list of candidates to INEC.

“I am not in a position to confirm that to you, but can only tell you that there are procedures for submitting the names of political parties’ candidates to the INEC portal,” she said.

Ita-Messi further questioned how the faction could have submitted its list of candidates if, as it alleged, it had been denied access codes.

“If the faction claimed that they were denied access to the code, how did they submit the list of their candidates to the commission?” she queried.

The commission’s position followed a declaration by the faction at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday that it had submitted its candidate list to INEC.

The faction said the list included the name of former President Jonathan as its presidential candidate as well as its governorship and National Assembly flag-bearers for the 2027 general elections.

The faction had alleged that INEC denied it the necessary access codes to its electronic candidate submission platform.

It said that despite the alleged denial, it submitted the list manually.

The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the submission was made in accordance with the Electoral Act 2026.

“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 Part,”he said.

The faction said it was forced to adopt the manual approach after INEC allegedly refused to provide it with the access codes needed to use the commission’s electronic platform.

Ememobong also accused INEC of bias in handling the PDP leadership dispute, alleging that the commission had failed to remain neutral.

The faction alleged that INEC had ignored relevant facts and judicial decisions concerning the party’s leadership.

The camp said it had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, regarding the commission’s alleged refusal to recognise its interim leadership.

The Turaki-led faction also criticised a recent judgment by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim, arguing that it was inconsistent with previous decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, which, according to the faction, formed part of the legal basis for its claim to the PDP leadership.

The faction said it had appealed the judgment and remained confident that the appellate court would rule in its favour.

It maintained that its interim leadership was competent to conduct the party’s affairs, including nominating and submitting candidates for the 2027 elections.

The group further warned that it would challenge any candidate list published by INEC that differed from the list it said it had submitted.

The dispute has now placed the status of Goodluck Jonathan’s purported nomination before INEC under fresh scrutiny, with the Turaki-led faction insisting that his name, along with those of its governorship and National Assembly candidates, was submitted to the commission.

INEC, however, has declined to confirm receipt of the list while pointing to its stipulated procedure for submitting candidates via its designated portal.