Rival factions of the Peoples Democratic Party led by supporters of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Tanimu Turaki-led Interim National Working Committee have traded accusations over plan to endorse former President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election.

While the Wike-backed PDP questioned the legitimacy and authority of the Turaki-led faction, the latter accused the minister of attempting to shut down the venue for the planned event.

On Thursday, the Turaki-led faction announced plans to convene a convention in Abuja on Saturday (today) to formally endorse Jonathan as its candidate.

The move came a week after Senator Sandy Onor was screened, cleared and officially presented as the PDP’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

In a statement on Friday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, called on security agencies to investigate the source of the reports and prosecute those behind what it described as an attempt to create political tension and disrepute within the polity.

Mohammed also urged former President Goodluck Jonathan to publicly distance himself from the development, saying it was necessary to protect the “integrity of the democratic process and his reputation.”

“The attention of the PDP has been drawn to misleading information and unfounded reports circulating in certain quarters regarding an alleged planned convention aimed at affirming former President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, as the presidential candidate of the PDP.

“The party wishes to categorically state that no such convention, meeting, or process has been scheduled, approved, or endorsed by the leadership or any recognised organ of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“We therefore urge all party faithful, supporters, stakeholders, and members of the general public to disregard such false information, as it is misleading, unauthorised, and intended to create confusion within the polity,” he said.

Mohammed added that the party had concluded primaries for all elective positions in line with the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, provisions of the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.

“In view of this development, we respectfully call on former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to publicly dissociate himself from this charade in order to protect the integrity of the democratic process and preserve the credibility he earned while serving the nation.

“We also call on relevant security agencies to swiftly investigate the source of these false reports and take appropriate action against the perpetrators whose motive is nothing but to create political tension in the country.

“The PDP will henceforth not fold its arms and allow the party to be dragged into disrepute through falsehood, misinformation and unauthorised political activities aimed at undermining its integrity and democratic structures.

“The party remains totally committed to due process, internal democracy and the rule of law in all its political activities and engagements, and will continue to protect the sanctity of its constitutional processes and decisions,” it added.

However, the Turaki-led faction, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong on Friday, accused Wike of attempting to intimidate the management of A Class Event Centre over the use of its facility for the gathering slated for Saturday.

It insisted that having met all necessary requirements, the special convention to ratify Jonathan as its presidential candidate would go ahead as planned.

“We have been informed by the proprietors of A Class Event Centre of the threat by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to shut down their business premises if the Peoples Democratic Party is allowed to use their hall for our presidential candidate ratification ceremonies.

“We state here, and for the record, that we had furnished consideration in full to consummate the earlier offer and acceptance. Furthermore, we had duly notified all relevant security agencies about the event. We have directed our lawyers to write, reminding A Class Event Centre of these facts.

“Having satisfied these requirements, we reiterate that the special convention to ratify the presidential candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan will hold as scheduled on Saturday, 30th May, 2026, at A Class Event Centre, Wuse 2, Abuja, by 10 a.m.

“We are certain that Nigeria is a country governed by law, and any attempt to use force to suppress political dissent and opposition is an aberration which must be resisted by all people of good conscience,” the statement read.

The faction added that the FCT Minister had no legal powers to determine where political events should be held, describing such alleged interference as undemocratic.

In a related development, the Federal Capital Territory Administration threatened to revoke title documents of any event centre, public building or hotel that allows its facilities to be used by what it described as illegal organisations.

The warning was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka.

The FCTA said the directive was part of measures to strengthen security and maintain peace in the nation’s capital, adding that land allocations must be used strictly for lawful purposes.

“In view of the need to further ensure the security of lives and properties in the FCT and sustain the efforts of security agencies in this regard, usage of event centres, hotels and other public buildings will now be closely monitored.

“This is aimed at ensuring that they are not used by illegal organisations for gatherings capable of disrupting the peace of the nation’s capital.

“Going forward, title documents of any event centre, hotel or public building that is used for the gathering of illegal organisations will be revoked,” it said.

The administration urged owners of such facilities to verify the legality of organisations before approving bookings, especially in the current political season.

“Owners of these facilities are therefore urged to take cognisance of the legality of organisations seeking to use their facilities and the purpose before letting them out,” it added.

It warned that non-compliance would attract severe consequences, noting that operators must ensure they only deal with recognised party leadership in line with Independent National Electoral Commission guidelines.