The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed the nomination of former President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2027 general election, which was submitted by the Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The faction had earlier announced that it forwarded Jonathan’s nomination, alongside the names of its governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly candidates, to the electoral commission.
According to the group, the submissions were made manually after it was allegedly denied access to INEC’s electronic candidate nomination portal.
Reacting to the development, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the commission does not accept manual submissions for candidate nominations.
She explained that nominations must be completed exclusively through the commission’s designated online portal in line with its regulations and guidelines.
“Submission is only done on a dedicated portal as stipulated by our regulations and guidelines please,” she said.
INEC’s rejection of the manual submission effectively invalidates the nomination presented by the Turaki faction and casts further doubt on the legitimacy of the candidates it submitted for the 2027 elections.