THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the notice submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its upcoming 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, citing a violation of procedural guidelines.
In a letter dated 13 June 2025 and addressed to the party’s national chairman, the Commission noted that the notification did not comply with the provisions of the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
INEC specifically referenced Part 2(12)3, which mandates that “the National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party shall jointly sign the notice of convention, congress, conference or meeting and submit same to the Commission.”
The letter, signed by the Acting Secretary to the Commission, Hajiya Hau’ru Aminu, stressed that the PDP’s notice lacked the required joint endorsement.
While the notification was submitted within the 21-day timeframe required by law, it was reportedly signed only by the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, without the co-signature of the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu.
“The Commission draws your attention that the notice is not in compliance… Be guided,” the letter read in part.
The PDP had written to INEC on 30 May 2025, informing the Commission of its intention to hold the NEC meeting on 30 June at its National Secretariat in Abuja.
The meeting is expected to address key party issues, including the lingering internal leadership disputes, ratification of zonal congresses, and committee reports.
The PDP, meanwhile, has been embroiled in a deep internal crisis, largely triggered by the fallout from the 2023 elections.
Recently, the party experienced a wave of defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly in the National Assembly and state structures.
Prominent figures like Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his deputy, Monday Onyeme, and former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, along with several commissioners and political stakeholders in the state, defected to the APC in April.
Following the gale of defections, the PDP National Working Committee held an emergency meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja in the same month.
Amid the internal wranglings, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and other G5 members met on June 9 and advocated that the PDP zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the Southern region of the country.
Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the party in 2023, has, in recent months, initiated consultations aimed at forming a formidable opposition coalition ahead of 2027.
These consultations involve key political figures, including Peter Obi and Nasir El-Rufai, with whom he seeks to align against what he and others describe as a creeping “one-party state” under the APC.
Meanwhile, some members of the party have rejected coalition suggestions, and chieftains like Bode George have boasted about resolving and coming back ahead of the party’s proposed NEC meeting.