PDP Faction Names Jonathan as Presidential Candidate for 2027

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki SAN, has submitted the name of former President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This submission was made in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026, despite ongoing leadership disputes within the party.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Interim National Working Committee (INWC), Ini Ememobong, stated that INEC acknowledged receipt of the submission but denied the faction access to electronic submission codes. The faction claims to be the authentic leadership of the PDP following a Supreme Court judgment that left the party without a legally recognized national leadership.

Ememobong criticized a recent judgment by Justice Salim Oluwasupo Ibrahim, arguing it contradicted earlier Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions. The faction has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja regarding INEC's refusal to recognize its interim leadership and accused INEC of institutional bias against the PDP.