Wike-backed PDP Caretaker Committee attends INEC quarterly meeting

The National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday attended the regular quarterly consultative meeting of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP delegation at the meeting was led by the National Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Abdulrahman Mohammed, alongside the party’s Acting National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.

Although INEC has yet to make an official statement on the development, the presence of the Mohammed-led committee comes days after a Federal High Court in Ibadan declined to recognise the Tanimu Turaki-led leadership of the opposition party.

While the Mohammed-led National Working Committee (NWC) welcomed the judgment, the Turaki-led faction rejected the ruling and has since filed an appeal.

Turaki had earlier explained that his faction approached the Ibadan court seeking an order of mandamus to compel INEC to recognise the leadership that emerged from the party’s Ibadan convention. However, the court reportedly declined the request, ruling that granting such relief would amount to sitting on appeal over courts of coordinate jurisdiction.

NAN reports that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, had on December 19, 2025, met with leaders of the two rival PDP factions ahead of the February 21 FCT Area Council elections, as well as the forthcoming Osun and Ekiti governorship polls.

Also present at the ongoing INEC meeting were the Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Nenadi Usman, and the party’s National Secretary, Senator Darlington Nwokocha.

The meeting was also attended by the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, as well as national chairmen and national secretaries of other registered political parties, including Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).

INEC had on Wednesday held similar consultative engagements with civil society organisations (CSOs) and media executives as part of preparations for the FCT Area Council elections scheduled for February 21.

The commission is also expected to convene a quarterly meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on Friday.

However, a check on the INEC website as of Thursday shows Umar Damagum still listed as National Chairman and Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary of the PDP.

For the Labour Party, the commission’s website already reflects Nenadi Usman and Darlington Nwokocha as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, with the notation “court order” attached to their recognition.