The meeting between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday failed to resolve the lingering crisis over the party’s National Secretary position.

Convened at the instance of the PDP, the meeting was adjourned for 48 hours to allow for further consultations.

Speaking after the closed-door meeting, which lasted about an hour, the PDP Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagum, said the engagement was intended to clarify the party’s position ahead of its forthcoming National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

“We are here to discuss because we have a NEC meeting, and there was a decision by NEC mandating us to write a letter to avoid crisis.
We want INEC to guide us so that when we go back, we won’t have issues,” Damagum stated.

INEC had earlier rejected the party’s May 30 notification of its 100th NEC meeting, citing non-compliance with the regulations. In a letter dated June 13, the commission noted that the notice failed to meet the requirement under Part 2(12)3 of the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, which stipulates that such notices must be jointly signed by the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, speaking during the meeting, revealed that the commission had received conflicting correspondence from the PDP regarding the position of National Secretary.

“In the last couple of months, we received letters from the party introducing different individuals as the National Secretary,” Yakubu said.

“First, it was Mr. Ude-Okoye, then the party said it was Senator Anyanwu, then later Mr. Koshoedo. The most recent letter from the party did not indicate a secretary at all—it was signed only by the chairman, and we responded accordingly.”

He added that, as the regulator and registrar of political parties, INEC required the PDP to clarify its official position on the matter.

Damagum confirmed that the meeting would resume on Thursday.

Among those in the PDP delegation were Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), and Zamfara State PDP leader Garba Lawal.

Other party leaders present included Senators Bukola Saraki, Mohammed Makarfi, Abba Moro, Ben Obi, and Seriake Dickson.

The PDP has scheduled its NEC meeting for Monday next week.