Politics
What INEC told warring PDP factions
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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Friday, told the two rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to urgently “put their house in order” ahead of critical off-season elections.
INEC gave the admonition during a meeting to which it summoned both PDP factions.
The session, which began mid-day, brought face-to-face the Tanimu Turaki-led bloc and the faction backed by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
Turaki arrived with members of his National Working Committee, secretariat staff and former Niger State Governor, Dr Babangida Aliyu.
Mohammed was accompanied by members of his caretaker committee, including Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, told both sides that the Commission had been inundated with “various conflicting correspondences” from contending actors in the party, prompting the need for a joint dialogue.
With the FCT Area Council polls and two governorship elections around the corner, INEC appears keen to avoid administering elections while the main opposition party remains fractured.
“We are determined to ensure that we follow the provisions of the law. We want to move forward as a family,” Amupitan told the factions.
“The FCT election is coming up on the 1st of February 2026, while the Ekiti election will be coming up in June 2026, and Osun in July 2026.
“We are on course to ensure that we have a very smooth election, but having received conflicting correspondences from the PDP, we felt that rubbing minds together would help forge the way forward concerning these elections,” he stated.
He stressed that INEC’s actions would continue to be guided strictly by law. “INEC sits on the tripod of three legal regimes—the Constitution, the Electoral Act and our Regulations. We are mindful of the need to maintain the sanctity of the Constitution, which is the grund norm,” he added.
Speaking after the meeting, Turaki disclosed that his team had been invited “only last night,” and assumed the talks would centre on “housekeeping issues” earlier raised with INEC.
However, he said they were surprised to learn that “some former members of our party who had earlier been expelled were also invited.”
According to him, INEC explained that the presence of all parties was necessary “with a view to looking for possible solutions that will resolve what the chairman described as lingering problems within the PDP.”
Turaki said his faction had laid out its position clearly: “We made presentations of what we think the issues are, and INEC has listened to us. Even though these matters are before the Court of Appeal and have not been heard, INEC said they will look into what we submitted very seriously.”
He added that the Commission worked late into Thursday night assessing the situation of all parties.
“INEC is an umpire and will always want to conduct an election that is transparent and acceptable. Where major participants are unable to participate, it casts a dark shadow on the outcome,” he noted.
On whether the meeting recognized the authenticity of his faction, Turaki said: “When elders sit to settle a land dispute, they know who the legitimate owner is, but both sides must be heard so that no one claims they were denied fair hearing.”
Turaki also urged INEC to probe the roots of crises within opposition parties. “I wish INEC was in a position to make an inquiry into the sources of these conflicts being created in some leading opposition parties,” he said, insisting that his faction remained committed to holding the ruling APC “accountable to best practices, the rule of law, security, infrastructure decay, injustice and other issues affecting Nigerians.”
Senator Sam Anyanwu, who spoke for the Wike-backed Abdulrahman Mohammed group, insisted that the leadership of the PDP properly expired on December 9, 2025, creating a vacuum that justified the appointment of a caretaker committee by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees BoT.
“The life span of the leadership expired on December 9. A caretaker committee was appointed with Hon. Abdulrahman Mohammed as Chairman and I as Secretary.
“The court nullified the convention in Oyo State, so there was no valid convention. Nature abhors vacuum”, he said.
He praised INEC’s approach, saying: “The INEC chairman is a man blessed with wisdom. The way they spoke to us showed that they really wanted us to continue to exist as the major opposition party.”
Anyanwu linked the PDP crisis to “greed, ambition and ego of some people,” but reassured supporters that “PDP is still PDP. Nigerians know that PDP has a mechanism for managing internal crisis, and we will come out stronger.”
He urged aggrieved members to return. “We are going to tell our brothers to come back home. Reconciliation means coming back and then we do a convention. Some of them might be lucky to emerge as leaders from their states, but for now, the only recognized body is the caretaker committee of the party”.
The leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, has formally welcomed former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, and former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, into the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dickson disclosed this in a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Thursday, May 28, 2026, where he also announced that the party had granted both politicians waivers to participate in the NDC senatorial primaries scheduled for Friday.
According to him, Omo-Agege and Ochei would contest in their respective senatorial districts under the platform of the party.
“It was a pleasure to warmly receive Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR, former Deputy Senate President, into our great party, alongside Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.
“I am also pleased to announce that the NDC has not only received them warmly but has equally granted them waivers to contest in the senatorial primaries in their respective districts tomorrow,” Dickson stated.
The latest development comes amid ongoing political realignments in Delta State following Omo-Agege’s recent resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Earlier on Thursday, Omo-Agege officially confirmed his defection to the NDC and declared his intention to contest the Delta Central Senatorial seat in the 2027 elections.
Multiple reports also confirmed that the NDC leadership approved waivers for both Omo-Agege and Ochei to participate in the primaries despite their recent entry into the party.
Dickson explained that the decision followed weeks of consultations aimed at strengthening the NDC’s structure in the South-South region and across Nigeria.
“This development is the result of several weeks of consultations aimed at strengthening the foundations of our party in the South-South region and across the country,” he added.
He further urged party members and supporters to embrace the new entrants and work together toward the party’s electoral ambitions ahead of 2027.
The defection of Omo-Agege, a former APC governorship candidate in Delta State, alongside the movement of other political figures into the NDC, is expected to reshape political calculations in the state as parties intensify preparations for the next election cycle.
Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken what appears to be an unassailable lead in the 2027 presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which started yesterday, Monday, May 25, 2026.
He as so far won over 160,000 votes from three states, with Amaechi winning only one state and garnering about 7,000 votes, while Hayatu-Deen has yet to win a state. Atiku has won Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, while Amaechi won Ebonyi.
The Zamfara chapter of ADC over-night declared Atiku as the winner of its presidential primary election in the state.
The Chairman of the ADC Presidential Primary Election Committee and Returning Officer for the exercise, Namadi Musa, announced the results on Monday in Gusau.
Musa said Abubakar polled 60,500 votes to defeat two other aspirants, Dr Mohammed Hayatuddeen, who scored 446 votes, and Rotimi Amaechi, who secured 191 votes.
He explained that the primary was conducted across all 147 wards in the 14 Local Government Areas of Zamfara in line with the party’s guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026.
According to him, 63,484 party members were registered for the exercise, and 61,137 votes were cast.
“Having fulfilled the ADC guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026, and having scored the highest votes, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is hereby returned as the party’s presidential candidate in Zamfara,” Musa declared.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Collation Officer for the Zamfara ADC Presidential Primary, Mikailu Barau, handed the collated results to the returning officer after the 14 local government party chairmen declared results from their areas.
Musa commended party members and stakeholders for their support, noting that the exercise was conducted peacefully across the state.
The collation and announcement of results were done in the presence of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and other stakeholders.
NAN further reports that the results were announced in the presence of officials from the Election and Political Party Monitoring Department of the INEC.
The officials said they monitored every stage of the process, from the State Assembly and Governorship primaries to the House of Representatives, Senatorial, and Presidential primaries.
The head of the INEC team, Mr Lawal Aliyu, advised party officials to adhere strictly to the commission’s guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2026.
He said INEC would remain neutral and ensure a level playing field for all contestants in the electoral process.
Aliyu also urged stakeholders to mobilise prospective voters to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to participate in the general elections.
NAN reports that the ADC State Chairman, Shehu Maishanu, local government chairmen of the party, and candidates for State Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senatorial seats attended the event.
In Yobe, Atiku won the presidential primary with 44,841 votes.
Hajiya Ma’am Kyari, chairperson of the electoral committee in Yobe, announced the result on Monday in Damaturu.
Kyari said Mr Rotimi Amaechi secured 300 votes, while Mr Mohamed Hayatudeen polled 365 votes during the exercise.
She declared Atiku winner after securing the highest number of valid votes cast in the primary election.
“Having scored the highest number of valid votes cast, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is hereby declared winner of the ADC presidential primary election in Yobe State,” she said.
Kyari described the exercise as peaceful and conducted in line with the party’s guidelines.
She commended party members, officials and security agencies for ensuring a smooth process across the state.
The chairperson also praised aspirants and their supporters for maintaining decorum throughout the exercise.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Kassim Geidam, ADC governorship candidate in Yobe, described the primary as peaceful and successful.
Geidam said party supporters and stakeholders across Zones A, B and C actively participated in the process.
He commended party executives, security agencies and traditional rulers for supporting the peaceful conduct of the election.
The governorship candidate also appreciated media practitioners for their professionalism during the exercise.
Yesterday evening, Atiku had won the ADC presidential primary in Sokoto State by a wide margin.
Announcing the results on Monday, Chief Collation Officer, Prof. Aminu Abubakar, said Atiku secured 68,823 votes across the 23 local government areas.
Prof. Abubakar said 69,434 votes were cast during the exercise conducted across the state.
According to him, Amaechi, polled 292 votes.
But in Ebonyi, Amaechi secured 6,050 votes to emerge victorious, while Hayatu-Ddeen garnered 4,840 votes to come second, with Atiku coming a distant third with 1,210 votes. (Based largely on NAN reports)
An African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential aspirant, Rotimi Amaechi, has given condition to question the party’s ongoing presidential primary.
Amaechi disclosed that he would react and question the process of the primary election if it’s not free and fair.
He spoke to journalists after casting his vote at the ongoing ADC’s presidential primary in his Ward of Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to Amaechi: “It was a huge number of turn out, first there was celebration and dancing, then we got the INEC people involved and I did cast my vote and left the place.
“I was monitoring the country state-by-state where I was, I hope the system would be transparent as it was in my village, if it’s transparent I would accept the result but if it’s not free and fair a lot of us would react.
“The answer is yes, If the other person wins, I will work with him but if the process is not free and fair, I would question it.”
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