Monday, June 23, 2025 - The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly denounced what it describes as unwarranted interference by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its internal affairs. The party asserts that the commission lacks the constitutional authority to regulate its meetings, including the upcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) session, unless the agenda pertains to the election of party officers or candidates.
This stance was articulated on Sunday, June 22, during a
media briefing at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja. The party’s National
Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, addressed journalists ahead of the
party’s 100th NEC meeting scheduled for June 30, 2025.
Ologunagba emphasized that, as a matter of established
protocol, the party had formally informed INEC about the NEC meeting. However,
he pointed out that this notification was merely a courtesy and not a legal
requirement.
“INEC has no role in the regular meetings of the NWC or NEC.
These are internal matters, as confirmed by various Supreme Court rulings,” he
said.
Under Nigeria’s
electoral laws and the PDP constitution, Ologunagba explained, INEC is only
required to be informed about conventions, congresses, or primaries involving
the selection of party officers or election candidates.
“We never indicated that the upcoming meeting was to elect
officers, conduct primaries, or nominate candidates. Yet, INEC’s Acting
Secretary, Halilu Aminu, took it upon himself to assign a false purpose to our
meeting,” Ologunagba added.
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