The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has turned down a presidential nomination form for former President Goodluck Jonathan that was physically delivered to the commission by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki.

INEC's Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, confirmed the rejection, saying the commission only accepts candidate nominations through its official electronic portal.

"Submission is only done on a dedicated portal as stipulated by our regulations and guidelines please," she told journalists.

Why the Turaki camp chose manual submission

The Turaki faction's National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the group had no option but to submit documents in person after INEC refused to release the access codes required to file electronically.

He argued the codes were an administrative tool rather than a legal prerequisite and maintained that the physical submission was fully compliant with the Electoral Act 2026.

"Notwithstanding INEC's refusal to provide us with the necessary access codes… we have successfully submitted, manually and in full compliance with the Electoral Act 2026, the list of candidates sponsored by the authentic Peoples Democratic Party," Ememobong said.

He added that the submission covered Jonathan's presidential nomination along with governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates fielded by his committee, and claimed INEC acknowledged receipt despite the ongoing dispute over which faction represents the legitimate PDP leadership, Punch reported.

Ememobong warned INEC against publishing any candidates list that differs from what his committee submitted, vowing to pursue every available legal remedy.

"Should the Commission publish names other than those lawfully submitted by us… we are exhausting every constitutional, legal and democratic avenue to ensure that our Party is not hijacked or annexed to the ruling party," he said.

PDP crisis and INEC accused of partiality

Ememobong traced the current standoff to a Supreme Court judgment that left the PDP without a recognised national leadership, after which the party's Board of Trustees and a requisitioned National Executive Committee meeting set up an Interim National Working Committee.

He said INEC refused to acknowledge this interim structure despite formal notification, forcing the faction to seek court intervention.

He also criticised a subsequent Federal High Court ruling as inconsistent with earlier appellate decisions, saying the faction had appealed the judgment and intended to separately challenge alleged discrepancies between the ruling delivered in court and its Certified True Copy., Vanguard reported.

Ememobong accused INEC of withholding facts during court proceedings and ignoring party congresses the commission had itself monitored.

"The Commission's actions have regrettably reinforced the growing public perception that it is no longer acting with the impartiality expected of the nation's electoral umpire," he said.

He went further, alleging that the PDP's internal troubles were part of a deliberate plan to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

"We were the pioneer target for opposition dismantling and capture… but it has now spread to almost all the opposition parties," he said, calling on Nigerians to defend multi-party democracy.