- INEC has disclosed its position on the crisis rocking the opposition PDP, which is now into two factions controlled by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike
- The electoral body made the position while speaking on the requestion of the legal representatives of a faction, Akintayo Balogun & Co
- Recall that the PDP has been facing an internal crisis since the outcome of the 2023 general election, where the party lost to President Bola Tinubu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the quest for the recognition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC), led by Kabiru Turaki’s faction. The faction being supported by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo.
According to INEC, the defection to reject the faction was based on multiple court judgments on the party’s matter. Recall that Makinde and his counterpart in Bauchi, Bala Mohammed, are supporting the Turaki-led faction.
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Photo Credit: @seyimakinde, @GovWike
Source: Facebook
PDP holds national convention
Recall that in November, the PDP, with the support of Governors Makinde and Mohammed, held a national convention of the party in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, which led to the emergence of the NWC.
The national convention was marred by a series of conflicting court rulings. Some of them are from the Federal High Court in Abuja, which stopped the party from going ahead with the convention. On the contrary, the PDP was cleared to go ahead with the convention by the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan and directed the electoral body to monitor the process.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), leading another group that opposed the convention, later formed a parallel NWC, Board of Trustees (BOT) and National Executive Committee (NEC).
Subsequently, the Turaki faction, backed by Makinde, through its lawyer, told the electoral commission to recognise its faction as the authentic national working committee.
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INEC gives reason to reject PDP faction
In a letter dated Monday, December 22 and addressed to the legal representatives of the PDP, Akintayo Balogun & Co, INEC maintained that the matter is sub judice, adding that it cannot take any administrative move that would pre-empt the ruling of the legal processes at the court.
According to INEC, the record of the PDP at its disposal would not be updated to reflect the faction’s national leadership until the resolution of the ongoing court cases that challenge the convention.
The PDP has been facing internal leadership crises since the outcome of the 2023 general election. The leadership crisis has led to the defection of all the first-term governors of the party, senators, House of Representatives members and political bigwigs. Many of them defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to secure their chances in the 2027 elections.
Photo Credit: @GovWike, @seyimakinde
Source: Facebook
Makinde on running for the presidency
Legit.ng earlier reported that Makinde opened up on increasing speculation about his possible interest in the 2027 presidential election.
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Makinde said he is qualified and even “overqualified” to serve Nigeria at the highest level.
The governor said his confidence stems from his years of experience both as a private sector professional and as a two-term governor of one of Nigeria’s key South-West states.
Source: Legit.ng