You Have No Right To Control Our Meetings – PDP Fires Back At INEC
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly rejected what it describes as unwarranted interference by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its internal affairs.
The party declared that INEC lacks the constitutional power to regulate its meetings such as the National Executive Committee (NEC) sessions, unless such meetings involve the election of party officers or candidates.
The PDP stated this during a media interactive session held on Sunday at the party National Secretariat in Abuja.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, who addressed journalists on key developments ahead of its 100th NEC meeting scheduled for June 30, 2025, noted that the PDP had duly notified INEC of the upcoming NEC meeting in line with established practice, even though such meetings fall outside the categories of political events that legally require INEC’s involvement.
“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,” Ologunagba stated.
He explained that under Nigeria’s laws and the PDP constitution, INEC is only required to be notified of conventions, congresses, or primaries involving the election of party officers or candidates.
“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,” he said.
The PDP’s 100th NEC meeting, Ologunagba added, will review progress on preparations for its forthcoming national convention, including updates from the Zoning and Convention Committees constituted at the 99th NEC meeting.
It would be recalled that INEC, in a response dated June 13, raised concerns over the signatories to the PDP’s letter, stating that the notice was invalid because it was not jointly signed by the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, as required under its regulations.
But Ologunagba rejected this interpretation, insisting that INEC had no authority to dictate who could sign internal party correspondence, especially since the PDP had an Acting National Chairman and Acting National Secretary in place.
“Whoever signs a letter is an internal affair of the party. It is not for INEC to dictate who can or cannot sign. If an Acting Secretary signed the letter, we couldn’t have rejected it on that basis,” he said.
He accused the commission of attempting to undermine the PDP and frustrate its internal processes under the guise of regulation, suggesting it was part of a wider agenda to stifle opposition and tilt the country toward a one-party system.
“Why this desperation to undermine political parties, seemingly to push towards a one-party state and stifle opposition? This is push-pull thinking, it’s a hallucination. The APC should understand that this is a delusion,” he warned.
Ologunagba further questioned the motives of INEC’s Acting Secretary, Halilu Aminu, and called on the electoral commission to investigate his actions.
“The challenge for us now, as a party, is to question: Who is the Acting Secretary working for? What is his objective? Why is he creating an agenda for our party’s routine NEC meeting?” he asked.
He dismissed social media reports suggesting INEC had cancelled the PDP’s NEC meeting, describing them as false and laughable.
“INEC cannot cancel our meetings. It is the party’s prerogative to decide such matters. INEC has no authority to do so,” he said.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
