PDP Crisis: HURIWA Asks INEC to Clarify Candidates’ Access Code Amid Court Battle

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately address reports that it has issued the Candidates' Access Code for the 2027 elections to a specific faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). HURIWA stated that INEC, under Professor Joash Amupitan, has a responsibility to be transparent with Nigerians.

Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, National Coordinator of HURIWA, voiced the pro-democracy group's alarm over claims that the access code was given to the faction associated with the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike. This is particularly concerning given the subsisting court judgments and ongoing legal battles regarding the control of the PDP.

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If indeed the reports are true that the Candidates’ Access Code has been issued to the faction associated with the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, then INEC must immediately explain the legal basis for taking such a consequential administrative step.

"If indeed the reports are true that the Candidates’ Access Code has been issued to the faction associated with the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, then INEC must immediately explain the legal basis for taking such a consequential administrative step," Onwubiko stated. HURIWA warned that remaining silent on the matter "only fuels public suspicion and undermines confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the electoral process."

The group referenced a recent Court of Appeal ruling that declared the tenure of the former PDP National Legal Adviser, A.K. Ajibade, SAN, expired in December 2025, and found no credible evidence of his re-election. The court's decision stated that any instruction letter from Ajibade lacked legal validity, a point HURIWA highlighted as significantly weakening the legal foundation of the March 29, 2026 convention organized by the Wike-aligned faction. HURIWA also noted that the PDP Board of Trustees, led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, had established an interim National Working Committee headed by Chief Kabir Tanimu Turaki, SAN, and that INEC has acknowledged its involvement in the related lawsuit.

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only fuels public suspicion and undermines confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the electoral process.