Turaki-Led PDP NWC Meets With Ex-President Jonathan

The National Working Commitee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday met with former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The closed-door meeting held at Jonathan’s office in the Maitama area of Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and some state PDP chairmen joined Turaki at the meeting.

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Sources told Channels Television that the party’s leadership was discussing issues bordering on the party and national interest.

Addressing journalists, Turaki said the PDP leaders briefed Jonathan about the prospects that the party has as far as the ongoing legal battles are concerned.

According to him, the former president also pledged his support for the PDP, saying, “the PDP has done enough for him, and he will try his best to do more for the party.”

The PDP has been embroiled in a leadership crisis with two men claiming to be the party’s national chairman.

While Abdulrahman Mohammed is being backed by the camp loyal to the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Taminu Turaki is backed by the camps loyal to Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde.

Worried by the situation, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, on December 19, 2025 met with the leadership of the two groups of the PDP.

The meeting, which held at the INEC headquarters in Abuja, was at the instance of the INEC chairman ahead of the FCT area council elections and those of Osun and Ekiti states scheduled for February 21, 2026.

The meeting was attended by the Tanimu Turaki-led national working committee and that of Samuel Anyanwu.

Amupitan said the intervention became necessary following a series of conflicting correspondence received from the party.

He said the engagement was also driven by preparations for the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections slated for June and July 2026.

According to the INEC chairman, the Commission had already circulated its election timetable and guidelines to all registered political parties and was determined to ensure smooth and credible polls in the affected areas. However, he noted that the conflicting positions emanating from the PDP made it necessary to bring the contending factions together to seek clarity and forge a common path forward.

Amupitan expressed satisfaction with the presence of senior officials from both camps, noting that the meeting provided a platform for open and constructive engagement aimed at resolving the leadership dispute in the interest of the party and the wider electoral process.

He further assured the PDP factions of INEC’s neutrality, emphasising that the Commission’s actions were firmly rooted in the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act and INEC’s regulations and guidelines.

The INEC chairman explained that the Commission operates within a three-tier legal framework comprising the Constitution, the Electoral Act and its internal regulations, and pledged that it would strictly adhere to these laws in handling the matter.

He urged the parties to engage in frank and constructive discussions to achieve the objectives of the meeting, after which deliberations continued behind closed doors