The national Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Haruna Mohammed Jungudu has expressed confidence in the ongoing PDP primaries, describing the process as free, fair and transparent. He said the party has recorded no complaints so far, attributing it to the PDP’s commitment to internal democracy and the freedom given to members to exercise their rights.

“It is free already and it is fair. You could see from the media space: no complaints, zero, absolutely zero complaints from the PDP. Not because we do not have contestants vying for the same office—we do—but because of our ability to ensure there is internal democracy, there is absolute freedom and rights given to party members to exercise their rights. You could see there’s absolutely no complaints from the PDP, and most of the aspirants who we feel that have now turned to be our candidates are very, very credible, marketable brands that will defeat any candidate from any political party,” he said.

Responding to concerns over internal divisions within the PDP, Jungudu acknowledged that factions previously existed in the party but insisted they no longer do.

“There used to be factions within the PDP, no doubt about that, but not anymore as I speak with you,” he insisted.

He also criticised aspects of the Electoral Act, arguing that limiting parties to direct and consensus primaries has created challenges within Nigeria’s democratic process.

“The Electoral Act, to be specific, has its own flaws. And I think the Electoral Act ought to have allowed the indirect mode of primaries, so much so that parties can have various options. But caging political parties to only direct and consensus is one of the flaws that I think the Electoral Act has brought into the democratic space,” he stated.

He, however, maintained that Nigeria’s democracy remains strong and will continue to improve with future amendments to the law.

“I think nothing is going to happen to the democracy in Nigeria. We are evolving, we’re going to get it better, and I believe with the experiences of the conduct of this primary, I believe the next 11th Assembly will do something to amend the Electoral Act so much so that it will address some of these things. But on the whole, on the overall, I think democracy has come to stay and we are doing good, we’re doing better, and there is still room for improvement.”

Defending the credibility of the PDP primaries, Jungudu said the party had already concluded its House of Representatives primaries without any complaints from aspirants or party members.

“So far so good. We conducted our Federal House of Representatives two days ago, results are out, and it’s nowhere—there are no complaints anywhere, even from our eyes,” he maintained.

Jungudu also rejected claims that low controversy within the PDP was due to uncertainty surrounding the party’s internal crisis.

“That is not correct,” he said.

He added, “Go to Plateau—we have about five governorship aspirants. Go to Gombe—we have four, with even a female aspirant. We have screened about 40 governorship aspirants so far. So who said it’s because people do not have confidence in the outcome of the PDP? No, that’s absolutely not correct.”

Speaking on the importance of party primaries, Jungudu described the process as a mandatory requirement under the Electoral Act and a key part of internal democracy within political parties.

“The conduct of primaries is one of the provisions—mandatory provisions—provided by the Electoral Act. You have to pass through the primaries before you finally emerge as the candidate of any political party. So that enables political parties to give their members the right to participate—to vote and be voted for. It enthralls and it entrenches internal democracy within political parties. Without the primaries, there is no way a candidate will emerge,” he explained.

Jungudu further claimed that internal divisions within the APC could work in the PDP’s favour ahead of the 2027 elections.

“The PDP will surely consolidate on that division within the APC and grab onto power,” he stressed.

While admitting that the PDP had faced its own challenges in the past, he appealed to Nigerians to give the party another opportunity, promising that the party was ready to correct its mistakes and improve governance for citizens.

“We are only pleading with Nigerians to see reasons why PDP should be given the opportunity again. Yes, we have had our problems, but we are pleading to Nigerians that we are sorry, we are ready to mend our ways and then make things better for the citizenry,” he assured.

The PDP national publicity secretary dismissed claims that the PDP is divided, insisting that reports of factions within the party are being exaggerated by the media. He emphasised that there is no officially recognized faction, pointing to party documentation and institutions such as INEC as evidence of legitimacy.

 
“I insist that it is the media that is factionalising the PDP. There is no faction anywhere. Go to INEC, go and ask them,” he stressed.

He defended the PDP’s strategy, saying it prioritises competence over popularity and insisting the candidate selection process is complete despite claims of internal confusion.

“The concept of winning elections in the past is usually one which suggests that you must get someone who is known by all Nigerians. And we have tested this, and severally, even those who appear to be the most popular candidates turned out to disappoint many Nigerians. So why not, this time around, get someone who has consistently been identifying with the downtrodden in this country?

“These are things that we need to look at: What are his manifestos and what are his antecedents, what are his track records? By the time you place all of these on the table, that surpasses any popularity of any candidate who does not have any track record,” he said.

He also said the candidate selection process is already concluded and dismissed claims of internal confusion or lack of seriousness ahead of the election.

“And I can tell you in the past, there were rumors, propaganda all over, that PDP will not field any presidential candidate. And today we have fielded one. Unfortunately, the sales of forms have closed, screening done and concluded. So PDP is really, really ready,” he emphasised.

Addressing rumours surrounding former President Goodluck Jonathan, Jungudu said the PDP had no confirmed involvement of the former president in the current race. He maintained that the party is aware of alleged impostors using its name and confirmed that a petition had been filed with security agencies over what he described as fraudulent activities.

“And the issue as to whether some groups are calling for President Goodluck Jonathan to contest—yes, we saw stories flying yesterday that they wanted to submit his form, and I think they said Goodluck Jonathan, I’m not sure. But it would be surprising that a man of the caliber of President Goodluck Jonathan would subject himself—I doubt if—if he had ever considered—but if he actually did, it would be surprising as a former president, a man who has laid another solid foundation for the survival of democracy in this country, would subject himself to a caricature arrangement of people who are not legally recognized by any institution, electoral body, security agencies, and what have you. In fact, as a matter of fact, we have a petition before the Nigerian Police against these impostors using the name of PDP, doing 419 and committing fraud,” he said.

Jungudu strongly rejected claims that a court judgment suspended members of the so-called Wike camp, insisting that no such ruling exists in the certified true copy.

“I am categorically denying that. There was no mention of that. I have the copy,” he insisted.

He challenged the assertion directly and maintained that he was present through the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court proceedings, where no such decision was made.

“I was in court from the Federal High Court—I was there—the Court of Appeal—I was there—and the Supreme Court—I was there. There was no mention of any suspension,” he insisted.

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