Politics
INEC Refuses To Recognise Makinde/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, according to The PUNCH.
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.
Last week, SaharaReporters 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.
Politics
2027: APC, APGA disagree over Anambra ‘alliance’
The All Progressives Congress and the All Progressives Grand Alliance are at loggerheads over the “progressives working together” mantra associated with the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.
The phrase has become a recurring political theme in Anambra State, with Soludo presenting cooperation between APGA and the APC at the federal level as part of a broader progressive agenda.
However, the Deputy National Chairman of the APC (South), Ben Nwoye, has rejected the claim that progressive forces are working together ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Nwoye urged APC supporters not to be deceived by APGA’s “progressives are working together” slogan, describing the claim as a fallacy.
He spoke at an Anambra Central senatorial district stakeholders’ meeting with local government and ward officials at the Uche Ekwunife Centre in Awka at the weekend.
“We urged our supporters not to be deceived by the APGA’s slogan of ‘Progressives are working together’. It is a fallacy, and we reject it because it is aimed at deceiving the President and our supporters,” he said.
Nwoye said the APC would work towards securing victory for its candidates in the 2027 elections, including President Bola Tinubu.
The APC senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Uche Ekwunife, said she and other party members were committed to securing support for the President and APC candidates in the state.
Ekwunife, who is also the South-East Zonal Director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said her interest and that of other APC candidates was to ensure the party performed strongly at the presidential, National Assembly and state assembly elections.
She urged APC supporters to reject APGA’s “progressives are working together” narrative and support Tinubu and other APC candidates.
“We must not be deceived by the All Progressives Grand Alliance slogan of ‘Progressives are working together in Anambra’. We must vote for Tinubu to enable him to complete the developmental projects he has started in the South-East region,” she said.
Ekwunife urged party members to remain committed and work for the success of the APC in the state.
However, when contacted on Sunday, the APGA Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, rejected the APC’s position and maintained that the “progressives are working together” position remained valid.
Opara said APGA was not deceiving anyone and pointed to the party’s adoption of Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
“We can tell them for free that in APGA, we are not deceptive. We are not people who don’t say or who don’t mean what they say. We say what we mean, and we mean what we say. That we have adopted President Bola Tinubu is enough proof, and let them wait to see the outcome,” he said.
He argued that APGA’s support for Tinubu had contributed to the President’s political standing in Anambra and the South-East.
Opara said the party remained committed to working with the President while retaining its identity and political interests in the state.
“So, for us, progressives will work together. The focus and the goal are to ensure that President Bola Tinubu is returned as the President of Nigeria come January 16, 2027,” he said.
Politics
‘They Don’t Want Wike To Win’ – Fayose Reveals Five APC Governors Secretly Backing NDC
Popular businessman, Isaac Fayose, has alleged that five All Progressives Congress (APC) governors are secretly supporting the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Fayose made the claim in a post shared on his Instagram page on Sunday.
Fayose claimed that the governors would not publicly campaign for the NDC or make statements because they are APC members.
He, however, stated that the governors had promised to financially support the NDC election campaign.
Fayose said, “We now have five APC governors supporting the NDC in this election. They are not going to come out to campaign for us. They are not going to say anything in public that will favour us, but underneath, they promised us to sponsor this election, and their request is very simple.
“The request is, they don’t want Wike to win FCT for APC; they don’t want Wike to win Rivers State for APC, I said to them in the meeting, Wike is not popular here in Abuja; APC is not popular here in Abuja.
“APC is not popular in Rivers; their game plan is to carry our ballot, their game plan is to announce the result, and they said yes, they know and what they want is they don’t want to be able to write those results.
“So they are offering all our polling agents in Rivers and FCT two hundred thousand per polling unit; if you can stand together against rigging, they are willing to give you two hundred thousand naira each.
“They don’t want their names to be in public because they are members of the APC.”
Politics
NDC Dissociates Itself From OK Movement PCC, Says Political Party Is Serious Business
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has dissociated itself from the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) recently announced under the name of the OK Movement, declaring that the structure was not authorised by the party.
The position was contained in a press statement dated September 19, 2026, and signed by the National Chairman of the NDC, Senator Moses Cleopas.
The development follows the unveiling of a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council by the OK Movement, a platform associated with the political activities of NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso. Reports said the council included zonal and state coordinators.
In the statement titled “Re: Purported OK Movement PCC Announcement,” the NDC said it had noted a publication credited to John Ugulu announcing a Presidential Campaign Council under the guise of the OK Movement.
The party stated categorically that the announcement did not originate from its leadership and should be disregarded by the public and the media.
“The party hereby dissociates itself in totality from the said OK Movement PCC announcement. It did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media.”
The position is consistent with reports published on Saturday that the NDC leadership had disowned the campaign council announced by the movement.
The NDC further reminded its candidates and support groups that candidates contesting under the party’s platform remain subject to its authority and disciplinary structures.
“All candidates of the party must appreciate that they are not running as independent candidates,” the statement said.
“They are products of the party and remain subject to the authority and discipline of the party.”
The party added that only its leadership has the authority to constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council.
It consequently directed that no individual, candidate or support group should announce or publish any campaign council, structure or organ in the name of the NDC without prior approval from the National Working Committee (NWC).
Also speaking on the development, Theo Abu Agada, spokesperson to NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson, warned the OK Movement against actions that could undermine the political party on whose platform its principals are contesting.
Agada described a political party as a serious organisation and said the NDC would not tolerate what he described as acts of insubordination by its members.
“You can’t undermine a party that gave you a platform,” he said.
The comments come against the backdrop of the formal entry of Obi and Kwankwaso into the NDC earlier in 2026. The two politicians were subsequently presented with NDC membership cards by the party leadership.
Despite its objection to the purported PCC, the NDC said it recognises and appreciates the contributions of support groups and would continue to work with groups that identify with its political objectives.
However, it said such groups must not regard themselves as alternative party structures or parallel organs.
The party also called for an end to what it described as unnecessary public attacks against the NDC, urging members and support groups with grievances to use the party’s internal channels for resolution.
The NDC statement also announced disciplinary action against John Ugulu, citing the purported PCC announcement, what it described as his excesses during the party’s Lagos State primary and repeated disregard for party authority.
The party said Ugulu had been referred to the appropriate disciplinary organ for necessary action in accordance with the provisions of the NDC constitution.
The NDC concluded by saying it remained focused on its issue-based political programme and its commitment to delivering what it described as a “New Nigeria that is possible.”
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