PDP Factions Clash Over Alleged Move to Affirm Jonathan as Presidential Candidate

The Peoples Democratic Party is embroiled in fresh internal dispute after two factions issued conflicting statements over reports that former President Goodluck Jonathan is being positioned as the party’s presidential candidate.

A faction aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had called on Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from the reports, dismissing them as false, misleading, and unauthorized.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, the group said no convention, meeting or process to adopt Jonathan had been scheduled, approved, or endorsed by the PDP leadership or any recognised organ. It urged party members and the public to disregard the reports, saying they were meant to create confusion.

The Wike-backed faction also stated that the PDP had concluded all primary elections, including presidential, in line with the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines and the party constitution, and that all exercises were peacefully conducted and supervised by INEC.

It called on Jonathan to distance himself “in order to protect the integrity of the democratic process,” and urged security agencies to investigate and prosecute those behind the reports.

In contrast, the faction led by former Minister Tanimu Turaki has accused Wike of intimidation ahead of a planned convention to ratify Jonathan’s candidature on Saturday, May 30, 2026.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the Turaki-led Interim NWC said the proprietors of A Class Event Centre in Wuse 2, Abuja, informed them of alleged threats by Wike to shut down their premises if the PDP used the hall. The group said it had paid for the venue and notified security agencies.

“We reiterate that the special convention to ratify the presidential candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan will hold as scheduled,” Ememobong said, describing any attempt to suppress opposition through intimidation as “undemocratic and contrary to the rule of law.”

The group also argued that the FCT Minister had no legal authority to determine which political events should hold or where.

The dispute comes amid ongoing leadership tussles within the PDP ahead of the 2027 presidential election.