The Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday urged the two rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party to urgently “put their house in order” as preparations intensify for key off-season elections.
INEC delivered the warning during a meeting convened by the Commission, which brought together representatives of both PDP factions.
The meeting, which commenced around mid-day, placed the Tanimu Turaki-led group face-to-face with the faction aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed.
Turaki attended the session alongside members of his National Working Committee, secretariat officials and a former Governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu.
Mohammed, on his part, arrived with members of his caretaker committee, including the Secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, told both groups that the Commission had received “various conflicting correspondences” from different actors within the party, necessitating the joint meeting.
With the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections and two governorship polls approaching, INEC appeared concerned about conducting elections while the country’s main opposition party remains divided.
“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.
Amupitan emphasised that INEC would continue to operate strictly within the 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 said his faction had received the invitation “only last night,” and initially believed discussions would focus on “housekeeping issues” earlier raised with the Commission.
He said they were taken aback upon discovering that “some former members of our party who had earlier been expelled were also invited.”
According to Turaki, INEC explained that the inclusion 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 group clearly presented its position. “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 reviewing the circumstances 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.
Responding to questions on whether the meeting conferred legitimacy on 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.”
He also called on INEC to investigate the underlying causes of crises in 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, stressing that his faction remained focused on holding the ruling APC “accountable to best practices, the rule of law, security, infrastructure decay, injustice and other issues affecting Nigerians.”
Speaking for the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led faction, Senator Sam Anyanwu maintained that the tenure of the PDP leadership ended on December 9, 2025, creating a vacuum that warranted the establishment 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.
Anyanwu commended INEC’s handling of the matter, 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.”
He attributed the PDP’s internal crisis to “greed, ambition and ego of some people,” but assured supporters that “PDP is still PDP. Nigerians know that PDP has a mechanism for managing internal crisis, and we will come out stronger.”
He further appealed to aggrieved members to return to the party. “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”.
