‘INEC Can’t Stop Us,’ PDP Insists NEC Meeting Holds June 30
The Peoples Democratic Party has insisted it will proceed with its National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for June 30, stating that the Independent National Electoral Commission has no authority to stop a statutory gathering.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, questioned who INEC’s Acting Secretary, Halilu Aminu, was serving by unilaterally attempting to define the purpose of the party’s meeting.
Once Nigeria’s dominant party, the PDP has struggled since its 2015 electoral defeat, plagued by leadership crises, defections, and unresolved congress disputes across key zones.
The ongoing battle over the National Secretary role between Sunday Udeh-Okoye and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, backed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has deepened internal rifts and repeatedly delayed NEC meetings.
To resolve the dispute, the PDP appointed Setonji Koshoedo as Acting National Secretary.
However, a fact-finding committee led by Taraba State Governor, Kefas Agbu, alleged that INEC recognises Anyanwu as the substantive Secretary.
Following this, the party’s 99th NEC meeting scheduled the 100th NEC for June 30, and the Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum notified INEC on May 30.
INEC, however, rejected the notice, citing its rule that such letters must be co-signed by both the National Chairman and National Secretary, and urged the party to comply accordingly.
Reacting to INEC’s letter, Ologunagba clarified that, according to Nigerian law and the PDP constitution, INEC’s role is limited to being notified about conventions, congresses, or primaries where party officers or candidates are elected.
He stated, “INEC has no role in the regular meetings of the NWC or NEC.
“These are internal party matters, as clearly established by the Supreme Court in numerous rulings.
“INEC cannot cancel our meetings. It is the party’s prerogative to decide such matters. INEC has no authority to do so. We are planning to hold our meeting as scheduled, if anything changes we will brief you.
“We did not state that the meeting was for electing officers, conducting primaries, or nominating candidates for elective positions.
“Yet, the Acting Secretary of INEC, Halilu Aminu, decided to unilaterally assign a purpose to our meeting.”
Ologunagba stated that the PDP’s 100th NEC meeting will assess the progress made in preparations for the upcoming national convention, including reports from the Zoning and Convention Committees established during the 99th NEC meeting.
“At the 99th NEC meeting, it was unanimously agreed to schedule the next meeting for the 30th of June. “The constitution of the Zoning Committee and the Convention Committee was approved. Consultations with various organs of the party and stakeholders are ongoing,” he said.
Ologunagba added that INEC has no role in the statutory meetings of the NWC and NEC, except when the meeting involves electing party officers, discussing mergers with other parties, or presenting new candidates for elections.
He stated, “Now, whoever signs the letter is an interrupter of the party.
“If the court does not have jurisdiction over what happened with the internal affairs of the party, I wonder why INEC will have jurisdiction over it.
“Because that is not the job of INEC. If we designate somebody to be the person to sign the letter, so be it.
“And that’s why it’s an internal affair of the party.
“Why the desperation to kill political parties? All they want is a party state, to stifle opposition.
“Which is just, like I have said earlier here, it’s wishful thinking, it’s hallucination.
“And INEC should know that this is a hallucination.
“This country will not go into a one-party state and nobody, no matter how powerful, whether you’re a president or you’re a combination of presidents, it will not work.”
Ologunagba said the party never announced any meeting to elect officers, conduct primaries, or discuss a merger.
He questioned where Aminu got that idea, accusing him of inventing a false purpose to serve vested interests aimed at undermining the PDP’s constitutional activities.
He said, “For the record, there have been several times we have issued notices of 21 days’ notice for congresses or other meetings that require those things to INEC and we have had calls at some point to even shift those dates.
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“So how did this acting secretary decide on his own to create and become a member of a political party and create for us an agenda that was not conveyed in the letter of the Acting National Chairman?
“And so the challenge for us now as a party is to say, who is the acting secretary of INEC working for? What is the objective?
“Why is he creating an agenda for our party for a regular statutory meeting that is routine?”
He said the bigger issue is that INEC has global partners, organisations that are interested in the body and support its independence, technical capacity, and credibility in the electoral process.
Ologunagba warned that INEC’s actions could undermine democracy and erode international confidence in its capacity to deliver credible elections.
