The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated it will not recognize the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This decision stems from subsisting court judgments and ongoing legal processes that continue to define the party’s leadership.
In a formal letter dated December 22, 2025, and signed by its Secretary, Dr. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, INEC communicated its inability to acknowledge or upload lists of national officers. These purported officers were allegedly elected at a PDP National Convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025.
The electoral commission emphasized that its stance is firmly guided by existing court rulings and the active litigation surrounding the PDP’s internal leadership dispute. INEC maintains that it is inappropriate to recognize any factional leadership while these matters are under judicial review.
INEC further elaborated that recognizing one group amidst unresolved legal proceedings would effectively prejudge the outcomes of the ongoing cases. Such an action, the commission stressed, would undermine the fundamental principles of the rule of law and due process.
The commission’s letter explicitly stated that the request to recognize the convention’s outcome is prejudiced. It cannot be acceded to until the pending appeals are definitively determined by the courts.
Consequently, in strict adherence to the rule of law and existing court orders, INEC has formally declined the demand to acknowledge or update its records with the national officers claimed to have emerged from the November 2025 PDP convention.
