BREAKING: INEC Rejects Turaki-Led PDP National Working Committee
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declined to recognise the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing subsisting court judgments and unresolved legal processes surrounding the party’s leadership crisis.
In a letter dated December 22, 2025, and signed by its Secretary, Dr Rose Oriaran-Anthony, the commission said it could not accede to requests to acknowledge or upload on its website the list of national officers elected at the PDP National Convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
INEC explained that its stance was guided by existing court decisions and pending litigation related to the ongoing dispute over the party’s national leadership.
The electoral body noted that recognising or acting on the claims of any faction would be inappropriate while the matter remains before the courts, stressing that it must await a definitive judicial resolution before taking any further action.
Naija News House had earlier reported that INEC had summoned the two feuding factions of the PDP to an emergency meeting at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting was chaired by INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, following weeks of deepening internal crisis within the opposition party.
It was learnt that representatives of the Governor Seyi Makinde-backed Tanimu Turaki-led faction and the Nyesom Wike-backed Abdulrahman Mohammed faction were in attendance, amid heightened tension over the party’s leadership structure and legitimacy.
The Turaki faction, which claims recognition as the authentic National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, arrived at the INEC headquarters with several top party officials.
Among those in attendance were members of the faction’s NWC, senior secretariat staff, and former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, who is regarded as one of the influential elders within the party.
On the other side, the Abdulrahman Mohammed faction, widely believed to enjoy the backing of former Rivers State Governor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister, Wike, was accompanied by members of its National Caretaker Committee.
