By John Moses
The leadership of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday met with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a bid to resolve a protracted dispute over the rightful holder of its National Secretary position.
The closed-door meeting was held at INEC’s headquarters in Abuja, following a letter from the PDP inviting the commission to its upcoming 100th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, scheduled for 30 June. However, the invitation was signed solely by the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, in breach of INEC’s guidelines.
In a response dated 13 June, INEC highlighted that, under Part 2(12)3 of its Regulations for Political Parties (2022), notifications of party meetings must be jointly signed by both the chairman and national secretary.
At the start of the meeting, Damagum explained the party’s intention was to “sincerely engage” with INEC on the lingering leadership row which has prompted multiple litigations and confusion within the party.
“The Supreme Court made a pronouncement on this, and INEC was a party to that litigation. Yet, the situation remains unclear,” he said.
INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu welcomed the PDP delegation, noting that the commission, as the official regulator of political parties, remained open to dialogue. He added that the PDP had a history of compliance, with 99 previous NEC meetings properly convened.
However, Yakubu acknowledged the current controversy had created “serious procedural issues,” revealing that INEC had received conflicting letters from the PDP over several months, each naming different individuals as national secretary.
“At different times, we’ve been told it’s Sunday Udeh-Okoye, then Senator Samuel Anyanwu, then Setonji Koshoedo, then back to Anyanwu. The most recent communication had no secretary’s signature at all,” Yakubu said.
Following the closed session, Damagum stated the party would consult with its broader stakeholders and return to INEC on Thursday with a unified position.
Present at the meeting were key PDP figures, including Governor Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Governor Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Governor Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Governor Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), and prominent party elders such as Senator Bukola Saraki, Senator Seriake Dickson, and Ahmed Makarfi, among others.
