INEC flags PDP crisis as 74 FCT candidates face possible disqualification and Labour Party remains excluded from Abuja’s 2026 area council elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission has flagged a leadership crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party that could lead to the disqualification of 74 candidates ahead of the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections.

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INEC documents released show that while the PDP submitted a full list of 74 candidates for the six area councils and their wards, the legitimacy of those nominations is now under legal threat due to unresolved disputes over the party’s national leadership.

The documents also show that the Labour Party has been entirely shut out of the polls, having presented no candidates on the final list, making it the only one of Nigeria’s 16 registered political parties without any cleared nominees for the FCT elections.

The Federal Capital Territory has 68 elective positions, comprising six chairmanship seats and 62 councillorship positions across Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji and Kwali.

Although the PDP put forward 12 candidates for chairmanship and vice chairmanship positions and 62 for councillorship seats, lawyers warn that a court ruling against the faction that conducted the party’s primaries could invalidate all the nominations.

Within the Labour Party, the failure to submit candidates is linked to a protracted leadership tussle between a faction led by Julius Abure and another led by Nenadi Usman’s National Caretaker Committee, which is backed by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.

INEC has refused to recognise the national convention held in Nnewi that re-elected Julius Abure, insisting that the tenure of Julius Abure had expired and that the commission only deals with party officials recognised by law.

Although a court order directed INEC to issue access codes to allow the party upload its candidates, the commission maintained that it could only act on submissions from recognised leaders, effectively leaving the Labour Party without representation in the FCT contest.

Inside the PDP, a separate leadership battle has emerged between a faction led by former Minister of Special Duties Tanimu Turaki, who was elected at a controversial national convention in Ibadan on November 15 and 16, and another faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed, which is backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The two factions have exchanged suspensions and filed multiple suits over control of the party’s structure, deepening the crisis.

Legal analysts have warned that if the courts rule that the leadership which organised the primaries was illegal, all nominations made under it could be nullified, citing precedents from the 2019 general elections when the Supreme Court voided party nominations in Zamfara and Rivers states.

In the FCT, such a ruling would wipe out all 74 PDP candidates, including chairmanship aspirants in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Bwari and Kwali, as well as the 62 councillorship contenders across the wards.

Commenting on the situation, the Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group, Auwal Rafsanjani, warned that the exclusion of opposition parties could weaken democratic competition and discourage voter participation.

“The risk is that if parties fail to resolve these internal problems, the ruling party will become the only viable option. That weakens choice and discourages voters,” Auwal Rafsanjani said.

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“It is important that politicians play by the rules and resolve their internal crises, otherwise it gives space for the exclusion of opposition and undermines the credibility of the process.”