Nigeria: Opposition PDP Submits Goodluck Jonathan's Presidential Candidacy

What the report says

Vanguard, in a report distributed by AllAfrica, said a faction of Nigeria’s opposition Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Turaki announced in Abuja on Friday, 31 July 2026, that it had manually filed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential nomination and other PDP candidate names with the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 elections. The group said it acted despite INEC’s refusal to recognise its Interim National Working Committee.

According to the report, the faction’s publicity secretary, Ini Ememobong, told journalists that manual filing became necessary after INEC did not provide electronic access codes. He said the submission covered the presidential ticket, governorship races, National Assembly seats and state assembly candidates, and claimed INEC acknowledged receipt. The group warned it would pursue legal remedies if the electoral body publishes a rival list.

The dispute reflects a wider leadership crisis within the PDP. Ememobong linked the standoff to court rulings on the party’s leadership and said the Board of Trustees and a requisitioned National Executive Committee meeting had created the interim committee after a Supreme Court decision left the party without a recognised national leadership. He also said the faction had appealed a Federal High Court ruling and would challenge alleged differences between the court’s delivered judgment and the certified copy.

The Turaki-led committee further accused INEC of failing to remain neutral, including by allegedly withholding material facts in court and disregarding congresses it had monitored. These claims are attributed to the PDP faction; the report did not include INEC’s response. The episode matters because candidate recognition by INEC can determine which party list appears on the ballot in Nigeria’s next general elections.