The Tanimu Turaki-led leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a blistering attack on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing the electoral umpire of bias and deliberate complicity in the deepening crisis rocking Nigeria’s main opposition party.
In a strongly worded response to INEC’s refusal to recognise and upload the party leadership that emerged from the PDP’s National Convention in Ibadan, the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, alleged that the commission was working hand in glove with forces determined to “kill the PDP and truncate democracy.”
Ememobong faulted INEC’s reliance on subsisting Federal High Court judgements to justify its position, insisting that the commission had chosen to ignore critical facts within its own knowledge in order to favour one political tendency over another.
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According to him, the judgements cited by INEC are already under appeal, with applications for stay of execution duly filed and awaiting determination by the Court of Appeal. He argued that until the appellate court rules otherwise, the commission ought not to act in a manner that undermines the internal processes of a political party.
“The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party reiterates that in law and in fact, there is no faction in the PDP,” Ememobong said, stressing that the Ibadan convention produced a legitimate National Working Committee under the leadership of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
He accused INEC of suppressing crucial information before the courts, including the fact that the commission monitored and participated in PDP National Executive Committee meetings where the date and venue of the Ibadan convention were unanimously agreed.
Ememobong further noted that INEC was formally notified of the convention and acknowledged the notice, a development he said the commission had “unconscionably suppressed” in ongoing litigation.
In what he described as evidence of selective conduct, the PDP spokesman recalled that INEC monitored the party’s primaries in Ekiti and Osun states, with all official communications emanating from the Turaki-led National Working Committee.
“For an institution that claims neutrality, INEC has acted in ways that raise serious questions,” Ememobong said. “While we appreciate the monumental pressure the commission may be under, its constitutional responsibility is first to Nigerians and to the defence of democracy.”
He also reminded INEC of the recent Supreme Court judgement in the Social Democratic Party (SDP) case, which reaffirmed that the commission has no role in determining or interfering with the internal leadership affairs of political parties.
Describing INEC’s posture as contradictory, Ememobong questioned why the commission convened a meeting with PDP leaders last week if it truly believed the matter was entirely sub judice.
“If INEC knew the issues were before the courts, what was the rationale for the contrived meeting of Friday last week?” he asked. “Except to create a false narrative of factionalisation to justify its actions and inactions.”
The Turaki-led camp insisted that the PDP’s recognised organs and administrative structures remain firmly under its control, pointing to a series of engagements with key stakeholders in the past month.
According to Ememobong, the Board of Trustees, PDP Governors’ Forum, state chairmen, National Assembly caucuses, former governors, former ministers and other influential blocs have all met with and acknowledged the Turaki-led National Working Committee.
He dismissed rival claims of factional leadership as the handiwork of a minority group, describing them as “a committee of friends” seeking to impose their will on the party against the principle of majority rule.
Concluding, the PDP spokesman urged party members and Nigerians to remain calm and resolute, assuring them that the party’s leadership was focused on rebuilding and repositioning the PDP ahead of future elections.
“The rebirth and renaissance of the PDP cannot be derailed,” Ememobong said. “INEC must remember that history will judge every institution by where it stood when democracy was under threat.”
