On Friday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held talks with the two opposing groups of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) at INEC headquarters in Abuja, in an effort to address the ongoing internal wrangling in the party.
The private meeting was attended by the Tanium Turaki-led faction and the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led group, which has the support of Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, in his opening remarks, stated that the commission’s intervention in the party’s lingering leadership crisis was necessary due to numerous conflicting reports from the party.
He noted that the steps taken by INEC to resolve the dispute were in accordance with the constitution, the Electoral Act, and its internal guidelines, adding that the commission will remain neutral while making efforts to resolve their differences.
“As a build-up to these elections, we have issued our own schedule of activities to all the political parties. And we are on course to ensure that we have a very smooth election at the area council of FCT and at Ekiti and Osun States.
“We have received conflicting correspondence from the PDP, and we felt that rubbing minds together would be a good opportunity for us to forge the way forward concerning the elections.
“And I’m happy that this morning we have the very top officials that are present here so that we can discuss as a family and see how the issues can be resolved, and we move forward.”
“So, we are mindful of the need for us to maintain the sanctity of the Constitution of Nigeria.
“Actually, INEC sits on a tripod, comprising three legal regimes: the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the regulations that have been made.
“So, we are determined to ensure that we follow the provisions of the various laws, the Constitution, and the regulations that we have made.
“Without much ado, I want to welcome all of you, and I request that we should have very, very frank discussions to ensure that we can achieve the objective of this meeting,” he stated.
Turaki was present at the meeting with the members of his national working committee, secretariat staff, and former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, while Mohammed attended alongside members of his national caretaker committee, including its secretary, Senator Sam Anyanwu.
Meanwhile, the meeting continued in a closed-door session shortly after Amupitan’s address.
