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”.
In a rare political development that has sent shockwaves through Sokoto State, the Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, Isa Kalanjeni, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and simultaneously stepped down from his elected position as council chairman.
The twin resignations were contained in two separate letters made available to journalists in Sokoto on Tuesday.
In a letter dated May 5, 2026, addressed to the APC Ward Chairman of Kalanjeni Ward in Tangaza Local Government, Kalanjeni announced his immediate departure from the ruling party.
I wish to formally inform you of my decision to resign from the APC with immediate effect. This decision is borne out of purely personal reasons. I appreciate the opportunity given to me to be part of the party.”
Resignation from Office
In a separate letter dated July 7, 2026, addressed to the Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Kalanjeni formally resigned as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area with immediate effect.
Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from my position as Executive Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Area, effective immediately from today.”
Reasons Cited
The embattled chairman explained that the “difficult decision” followed extensive consultations with family, political associates, and community stakeholders.
He also cited administrative constraints, stating:
“Due to recent unavoidable administrative challenges, I find that I am no longer able to execute the responsibilities of this office to the high standard expected of me.”
Despite the abrupt exit, Kalanjeni expressed appreciation to the people of the council:
“I am incredibly grateful to the electorate, the council’s legislative arm, and the entire staff for the privilege and opportunity to serve our people. I wish the incoming leadership and administration continued success.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is on course to meet the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) July 11 deadline for the submission of its presidential and National Assembly candidates for the 2027 general elections.
A senior member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the upload of candidates’ details was at an advanced stage, with the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate expected to be uploaded by the middle of the week.
“We are progressing smoothly with the uploading of the details of our National Assembly candidates,” the source said.
“We hope that on or before next Wednesday, we shall upload the details of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. We are completely sure of meeting the July 11 deadline for uploading all our candidates on the INEC portal.”
Checks at the APC’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department at the Muhammadu Buhari House headquarters in Abuja on Sunday indicated that the party’s technical team has continued to interface with the INEC portal without disruption.
Sources in the department said the details of most principal officers of the 10th National Assembly and several serving lawmakers had already been uploaded.
They added that the details of four serving governors — AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State — had also been uploaded to the INEC portal.
The race to meet the deadline followed a review of the party’s primary elections. The APC recently submitted a revised list of candidates to INEC after the NWC removed six senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates who had earlier emerged from the party’s May primaries.
The changes affected constituencies in Abia, Kogi, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kaduna, Niger and Kwara states and followed the recommendations of the party’s Primary Election Appeal Committee.
The revised list was forwarded to INEC in a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members after the conclusion of its primaries.
“The party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members following the conclusion of our shadow elections,” Morka said.
He declined to state when the final list of candidates would be released publicly, saying the party’s immediate focus was to ensure compliance with INEC’s nomination requirements.
“Our absolute immediate priority right now is ensuring that our designated candidates properly complete and return their Form EC9 nomination documents for upload ahead of the strict INEC deadline, rather than focusing on the public release of the list,” he said.
Despite the changes made by the appeal committee, the final list submitted to INEC retained many of the party’s leading figures, including four serving governors who secured the party’s tickets to contest Senate seats in the 2027 general elections.
Lawmaker representing the Nasarawa South Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo, has officially resigned from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
His resignation was contained in a letter dated July 2, 2026, and addressed to the ADC Ward Chairman in Galadimawa Ward, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The lawmaker attributed his decision to the party’s lingering internal crisis and protracted legal disputes at the national level.
In the letter sighted on Sunday by our correspondent, Onawo said his resignation takes effect from June 15, 2026.
The lawmaker said the persistent internal wrangling and legal battles within the party made it difficult for him to pursue the developmental mandate entrusted to him by the electorate.
“It is driven by my firm belief that the prevailing circumstances within the current party structure and the endless legal battles it is currently embroiled in no longer provide the cohesion, support, and enabling environment for me to focus squarely on effectively representing my constituents and to fully realise the developmental and progressive mandate they entrusted to me,” he said.
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