Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has accused the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of misleading aspirants by collecting money from them despite lacking the authority to field candidates.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Thursday, Wike said the faction’s actions would ultimately fail because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had already granted the recognised PDP leadership the access code required to upload candidates for elections.
According to him, the Turaki group does not have the authority to submit candidates to INEC, making any forms sold to aspirants worthless.
“When this issue started, I said what Turaki was doing would eventually backfire because he had collected money from people without having the legal backing,” Wike said.
He explained that INEC had issued access codes only to the officially recognised leadership of political parties, adding that his faction had already begun uploading candidates while the Turaki group had no such access.
“They have not been given an access code, so which candidates are they going to upload? We have the code and we are uploading our candidates, but they cannot upload theirs,” he stated.
Wike further alleged that the rival camp was giving its supporters false hope by encouraging them to believe court action could still secure their candidacies before elections are concluded.
He also dismissed claims that the PDP remains divided into factions, arguing that disagreement within a party does not amount to a legitimate faction.
Questioning the legitimacy of the Turaki group, Wike asked where its party secretariat was located and noted that it does not participate in INEC meetings.
“They are not recognised by INEC, they don’t attend INEC meetings, and yet people continue to describe them as a faction. The only people authorised to speak for the party are the recognised leadership,” he said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis marked by disputes over the party’s national leadership and control of its structures ahead of upcoming elections. The internal conflict has resulted in rival factions laying claim to the party’s leadership in some states and at the national level.
One of the groups is linked to former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, while the faction backed by Nyesom Wike insists it is the only leadership recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Wike has repeatedly argued that only the officially recognised PDP leadership has the authority to upload candidates to INEC’s nomination portal. His latest comments came amid allegations that the Turaki faction is collecting nomination fees from aspirants despite allegedly lacking the access code required to submit candidates for elections.
The dispute is the latest chapter in the PDP’s lingering internal crisis, which has deepened divisions within Nigeria’s main opposition party and raised concerns about its preparedness for future elections.
