2027: Turaki’s PDP faction ratifies Jonathan as presidential candidate – THISAGE

By Victor Osula, Abuja

The internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), escalated sharply on Saturday when a faction led by Taminu Kabiru Turaki, SAN, went ahead with a special convention in Abuja, where former President Goodluck Jonathan was symbolically ratified as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.

Information Minister Prof. Jerry Gana received the Certificate of Return on behalf of Jonathan during the factional rally, which was ultimately held in Area 10, Garki, after a sudden relocation of the venue triggered by increased security presence and reported roadblocks by police officers.

Party officials and delegates had initially focused on the A-Class Park and Event Center in Wuse 2, but the venue was later abandoned following mounting pressure related to a Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) directive restricting unrecognized political gatherings in public facilities.

The organizers subsequently moved the exercise inside Area 10, where the presentation took place in tense conditions.

At the center of the exercise, Prof. Jerry Gana addressed supporters and journalists, describing the move as part of efforts to reposition the opposition ahead of 2027, even as the faction insisted that all procedural requirements for the event had been met.

The Turaki-led interim national working committee said it had duly informed security agencies and had fulfilled contractual obligations with the event center before the disruption. His spokesperson,

Ini Ememobong, accused the authorities of political interference and claimed that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had pressured operators of the facilities to withdraw hosting rights.

Ememobong insisted that the faction remained undeterred, arguing that no law empowered the FCT administration to dictate where political parties could hold meetings, describing the development as an attempt to stifle opposition activity.

However, the faction recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and led by Wike strongly rejected the entire exercise, insisting that no convention or ratification process had been approved by any recognized body of the party.

Speaking in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, dismissed the meeting as “false, misleading and unauthorized”, warning that it was designed to create confusion in the political space.

Mohammed further maintained that the PDP had already concluded all statutory primary elections in line with the electoral law and INEC guidelines, and urged Nigerians and party members to ignore what he termed a “political farce”. Former governorship candidate of the party in Cross River State, Senator Sandy Ogor has emerged as the presidential candidate in a primary where former Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, was a returning officer.

Mohammed also called on security agencies to investigate the organizers and urged Jonathan to publicly distance himself from the trial.

In a further twist to the deepening schism, the Wike-backed outfit, reaffirmed former MP Senator Sandy Onor as the consensus presidential candidate for 2027, underscoring the growing divide within the opposition party.

Jonathan, who was Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015, has not publicly declared interest in the 2027 presidential election, despite recurring political speculation about a possible comeback attempt.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed a suit seeking to stop the former president from contesting the 2027 presidential election, describing the action as an abuse of the judicial process.

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