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Goodluck Jonathan’s candidacy rejected as PDP faction’s manual submission sparks INEC dispute
The Kabiru Tanimu Turaki‑led Interim National Working Committee of Nigeria’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced that it manually submitted a list of candidates for the 2027 general elections, naming former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate. The submission also included governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates, covering roughly 1,470 nominees.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected the manual filing, stating that all parties must upload candidates through its designated electronic portal and that it had denied the faction access codes for electronic submission. INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Ita‑Messi, said manual submission violates established procedures.
The Turaki faction maintains that it complied with the Electoral Act 2026, that INEC acknowledged receipt of the documents, and warned the commission that publishing any other list would undermine public confidence in its neutrality. The faction pledged to exhaust every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to prevent the PDP from being “hijacked or annexed” to the ruling party.
Entities
Goodluck Jonathan · Independent National Electoral Commission · Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) · Ini Ememobong · Kabiru Tanimu Turaki · Kabiru Turaki · Peoples Democratic Party · Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 10 SOURCES] The Turaki‑led Interim National Working Committee of the PDP manually submitted the list of candidates, including Goodluck Jonathan, to INEC for the 2027 election. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · von.gov.ng · +2 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] INEC denied the Turaki‑led faction access codes for electronic candidate submission. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · businessday.ng · +1 more
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The faction issued certificates of return for about 1,470 candidates (1 presidential, 28 governorship, 109 senatorial, 360 House of Representatives, 993 State Assembly). businessday.ng
- [● 10 SOURCES] The faction says it will exhaust all constitutional, legal and democratic avenues to protect the PDP from being “hijacked” or annexed to the ruling party. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · von.gov.ng · +2 more
- [● 8 SOURCES] The faction has appealed a Federal High Court judgment that declined to compel INEC to recognise the interim leadership. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · von.gov.ng
- [● 9 SOURCES] The Turaki‑led faction claims to be the authentic PDP leadership after a Supreme Court judgment left the party without a legally recognised National Working Committee. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · von.gov.ng · +1 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] The faction accuses INEC of institutional bias and warns it will take legal action if INEC publishes a candidate list different from the one it submitted. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · von.gov.ng · +1 more
- [● 10 SOURCES] INEC acknowledged receipt of the manual submission. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com · pmnewsnigeria.com · tribuneonlineng.com · von.gov.ng · +1 more
- [DISPUTED] INEC rejected the manual submission, stating that candidates must be uploaded through its electronic portal. blueprint.ng
- [● 2 SOURCES] The faction warned INEC that publishing a different candidate list would deepen public concerns about its neutrality. newtelegraphng.com · osundefender.com
- [DISPUTED] The Turaki faction says it complied with the Electoral Act 2026 in submitting candidates manually. blueprint.ng · newtelegraphng.com