The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has drawn the battle line as it maintained that its National Executive Committee meeting will go ahead as planned on 30th June, asserting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lacks the authority to prevent a constitutionally mandated gathering.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday, PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba challenged the rationale behind INEC Acting Secretary Halilu Aminu’s unilateral attempt to dictate the purpose of the party’s internal meeting, asking, “On whose behalf is he acting?”
Once Nigeria’s ruling party, the PDP has faced persistent challenges since its 2015 electoral loss, grappling with leadership disputes, high-profile defections, and unresolved congress disagreements in critical regions.
A protracted conflict over the National Secretary position—pitting Sunday Udeh-Okoye against Senator Samuel Anyanwu, who is supported by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike—has further divided the party and repeatedly postponed NEC meetings.
In an interim resolution, the PDP appointed Setonji Koshoedo as Acting National Secretary.
However, a fact-finding committee chaired by Taraba State Governor Kefas Agbu claimed that INEC still recognises Anyanwu as the legitimate officeholder.
After the party’s 99th NEC meeting scheduled the 100th session for 30th June, Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum formally notified INEC on 30th May.
The electoral body, however, dismissed the notice, insisting that such correspondence requires the joint signatures of both the National Chairman and National Secretary. It urged the PDP to adhere to this regulation.
In response, Ologunagba emphasised that under Nigerian law and the PDP’s constitution, INEC’s remit is confined to being informed about conventions, congresses, or primaries involving the election of party officials or candidates—not internal NEC gatherings.
He stated, “INEC has no role in the regular meetings of the NWC or NEC.
“These are internal party matters, as clearly established by the Supreme Court in numerous rulings.
“INEC cannot cancel our meetings. It is the party’s prerogative to decide such matters. INEC has no authority to do so. We are planning to hold our meeting as scheduled, if anything changes we will brief you.
“We did not state that the meeting was for electing officers, conducting primaries, or nominating candidates for elective positions.
“Yet, the Acting Secretary of INEC, Halilu Aminu, decided to unilaterally assign a purpose to our meeting.”
Ologunagba stated that the PDP’s 100th NEC meeting will assess the progress made in preparations for the upcoming national convention, including reports from the Zoning and Convention Committees established during the 99th NEC meeting.
“At the 99th NEC meeting, it was unanimously agreed to schedule the next meeting for the 30th of June.
“The constitution of the Zoning Committee and the Convention Committee was approved. Consultations with various organs of the party and stakeholders are ongoing,” he said.
Ologunagba added that INEC has no role in the statutory meetings of the NWC and NEC, except when the meeting involves electing party officers, discussing mergers with other parties, or presenting new candidates for elections.
He stated, “Now, whoever signs the letter is an interrupter of the party.
“If the court does not have jurisdiction over what happened with the internal affairs of the party, I wonder why INEC will have jurisdiction over it.
“Because that is not the job of INEC. If we designate somebody to be the person to sign the letter, so be it.
“And that’s why it’s an internal affair of the party.
“Why the desperation to kill political parties? All they want is a party state, to stifle opposition.
“Which is just, like I have said earlier here, it’s wishful thinking, it’s hallucination.
“And INEC should know that this is a hallucination.
“This country will not go into a one-party state and nobody, no matter how powerful, whether you’re a president or you’re a combination of presidents, it will not work.”
Ologunagba said the party never announced any meeting to elect officers, conduct primaries, or discuss a merger.
He questioned where Aminu got that idea, accusing him of inventing a false purpose to serve vested interests aimed at undermining the PDP’s constitutional activities.
He said, “For the record, there have been several times we have issued notices of 21 days’ notice for congresses or other meetings that require those things to INEC and we have had calls at some point to even shift those dates.
“So how did this acting secretary decide on his own to create and become a member of a political party and create for us an agenda that was not conveyed in the letter of the Acting National Chairman?
“And so the challenge for us now as a party is to say, who is the acting secretary of INEC working for? What is the objective?
“Why is he creating an agenda for our party for a regular statutory meeting that is routine?”
He said the bigger issue is that INEC has global partners, organisations that are interested in the body and support its independence, technical capacity, and credibility in the electoral process.
Ologunagba warned that INEC’s actions could undermine democracy and erode international confidence in its capacity to deliver credible elections.
Discussion about this post