By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, may not have spoken publicly on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, prolonged leadership tussle. But a series of quiet administrative decisions by the Commission has effectively tilted the balance of power in favour of the Kabiru Turaki-led National Working Committee, party insiders told Saturday Vanguard.
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The leadership crisis had dragged on for months, with accusations, counter-claims and mounting tensions between the Turaki-led NWC and the group loyal to Senator Samuel Anyanwu. Yet while politicians sparred over legitimacy, INEC appeared to be quietly shaping the real centre of authority.
Through a mix of subtle and unmistakable administrative actions, the Commission, perhaps inadvertently, became the decisive force in a dispute that threatened the PDP’s cohesion.
“From where we sit inside the party, this whole argument about legitimacy shouldn’t even exist. The Turaki-led NWC is the one INEC recognises, that’s the simple truth. That’s the simple truth,” a senior PDP source told Saturday Vanguard.
Signals in Osun
The first strong indicator emerged during the Osun governorship primary. INEC deployed five officials, more than the usual number, to monitor the exercise. But what truly struck seasoned observers was the paperwork: every notice, invitation and procedural document accepted by INEC carried the signatures of the Turaki-led NWC.
For those familiar with the Commission’s internal workflow, the meaning was clear, INEC was dealing with the leadership produced by the November 15 and 16 convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Tensions rose when the Anyanwu group earlier attempted to postpone the Ekiti congresses and governorship primary. They wrote to INEC expecting the Commission to act. Instead, INEC declined, saying the correspondence lacked signatures from the chairman and secretary it officially recognised.
“What happened with the Ekiti issue is actually very straightforward. Anyanwu’s camp wrote to INEC claiming they had postponed the primary. But the letter didn’t meet basic requirements. Naturally, INEC said they couldn’t act on it,” another insider told Saturday Vanguard.
That single rejection shifted the dynamics dramatically. It boosted the confidence of the Turaki camp and rattled their opponents, who had assumed that INEC would at least acknowledge their letters while the matter remained in court.
The Turning Point
The confrontation reached its peak when INEC sent out a communication rejecting the Anyanwu group’s attempt to shift the Ekiti primary. Although the Commission later tried to distance itself from the leaked version of the letter, the Turaki camp already had acknowledged copies, photos and transmission records. Within PDP circles, many considered the issue resolved.
At the same time, INEC privately pushed the party to conduct the Osun primary quickly to avoid missing statutory deadlines. That subtle pressure carried enormous political weight and further strengthened the perception that the Commission was operationally aligned with the Turaki-led structure.
“INEC was even the one nudging the Turaki-led NWC to conduct the Osun primary quickly. They didn’t want us missing the legal window because that would have left the party without a candidate. Imagine the signal that would have sent ahead of 2027,” a source familiar with the developments said
No Factions Here
Despite all that had unfolded, some politicians still insisted on calling the situation a “factional” crisis. But insiders pushed back on that claim, pointing out that, in PDP tradition, a faction only truly exists when a sizeable bloc openly stages a walkout at a national convention; like the dramatic Eagle Square episode where five sitting governors stormed out before the 2015 elections. Nothing even remotely close to that had happened this time.
To party veterans, claims of multiple factions were not only inaccurate but deliberately misleading.
“And this talk about ‘factions,’ let’s be serious. You don’t just wake up and declare that A, B and C have formed a new bloc. It doesn’t work like that in the PDP. The only time we truly had a faction was when those five governors walked out at Eagle Square before the 2015 elections.
“A faction emerges at the convention, physically, when people who are in attendance. walk out and set up their own convention and structures. None of that happened here. So, technically speaking, there is no faction in the PDP today,” a source told Saturday Vanguard.
Awaiting the Court — but the Tone is Set
Attention now turns to the High Court in Ibadan, which will determine the legality of the November 15 and 16 convention. While the ruling will deliver formal clarity, many insiders argue that INEC’s actions have already provided a practical verdict.
Through its monitoring decisions; its acceptance, or rejection, of correspondence, and its insistence on statutory compliance, the Commission has quietly shaped the trajectory of a bitter leadership struggle.
In Nigerian politics, perception often carries as much weight as legality. And for now, INEC’s subtle but strategic decisions have tipped the scales; quietly, firmly, and decisively.
The post PDP Leadership Tussle: How INEC quietly tilted the scales appeared first on Vanguard News.
