The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declined a request seeking the recognition of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by Kabiru Turaki.

The commission explained that existing court judgements restrain it from taking such a step, stating that it cannot grant the request to publish the list of national officers allegedly elected at the party’s National Convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025.

In a letter dated December 22, 2025, and signed by its Secretary, Dr Rose Oriaran-Anthony, and addressed to Akintayo Balogun and Co., legal representatives of the PDP, INEC said it is legally obligated to comply with final decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction that expressly prohibit it from recognising or enforcing the outcome of the convention.

INEC disclosed that the request followed a series of correspondences from different PDP legal representatives, including Taiwo Abe and Co. on November 14, 2025; Musibau Adetunbi, SAN and Co. on November 19, 2025; and Akintayo Balogun and Co. on November 21, 2025, all urging the commission to recognise and update on its website the list of national officers purportedly elected at the convention.

The Turaki-led PDP NWC is reportedly backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.

In November, the opposition party, with the support of Makinde and Mohammed, organised a national convention in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, which produced a new set of national officers.

The convention followed a series of conflicting court rulings, including decisions by Federal High Courts in Abuja that halted the exercise over alleged violations of the party’s constitution and electoral laws, while the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan cleared the PDP to proceed and directed INEC to monitor the event.

Subsequently, a faction of party members led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who opposed the convention, established a parallel NWC, Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Executive Committee (NEC).

The Makinde-backed PDP, through its lawyers, formally requested that INEC recognise Turaki as the party’s legitimate national chairman.

INEC, however, said it thoroughly examined the demands in light of the prevailing facts, relevant laws and, most importantly, existing court judgements directly linked to the issue.

According to the commission, two final judgements of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, form the basis of its decision.

These are Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2120/2025 — Austine Nwachukwu & two others v. INEC & eight others, delivered on October 31, 2025, and Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2299/2025 — Alhaji Sule Lamido v. PDP & four others, delivered on November 14, 2025.

INEC stated that both rulings, which are final and binding on all parties, expressly restrained the commission from supervising, monitoring, recognising or giving effect “in any manner whatsoever” to the outcome of the PDP National Convention held on November 15 and 16, 2025, or any other date, pending full compliance with the court’s orders.

The commission further noted that although notices of appeal had been filed against the judgements, established legal principles hold that filing an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution.

“Until the said judgments are set aside or stayed by a competent court, the commission remains bound to obey and give full effect to them in line with Section 287(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” the letter said.

INEC also addressed an interim order issued by the Oyo State High Court in Suit No. 1/1336/2025 — Folahan Malomo Adelabi v. PDP & others, noting that the commission had already been struck out of the case for lack of jurisdiction.

It added that, in any event, an interim order cannot override or invalidate subsisting final judgements of a court of coordinate or superior jurisdiction.

The commission further revealed that the PDP had filed another suit, Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/121/2025 — PDP v. INEC, seeking an order compelling INEC to recognise the NWC and members of the NEC elected at the Ibadan convention as the party’s lawful leadership for all electoral purposes.

According to INEC, the pendency of this suit and the related appeals makes the request for recognition prejudicial.

“In the light of the above pending suits, your request is prejudicial and cannot be acceded to until the determination of the pending appeals,” the commission stated.

INEC emphasised that, in compliance with the rule of law and existing court orders, it is unable to recognise or update the list of national officers said to have emerged from the PDP National Convention of November 15 and 16, 2025.

The commission added that this position had already been clearly communicated to PDP representatives during a meeting held with the party on Friday, December 19, 2025.

In a sweeping fiscal adjustment intended to address revenue gaps, poor capital project execution and overlapping budget cycles, the National Assembly on Tuesday approved a revised N43.5 trillion 2024 Appropriation Act and a restructured N48.3 trillion budget for 2025, extending the 2025 fiscal year to March 31, 2026.

The approvals came after prolonged plenary sittings in both chambers, which ended with the passage of the Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years submitted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last Friday.

In the Senate, the revised budgets were adopted following the consideration of a consolidated report by the Committee on Appropriations, presented by its chairman, Senator Solomon Adeola (Ogun West).

Lawmakers said the review was aimed at aligning Nigeria’s budget framework with current economic realities, closing implementation gaps and restoring discipline to the budgeting process.

While presenting the report, Adeola explained that the bills sought to repeal earlier budget provisions and replace them with updated figures reflecting revenue constraints, debt sustainability concerns and evolving national priorities.

He noted that the 2024 Appropriation Act was repealed from its original N35.005 trillion and re-enacted with a revised total expenditure of N43.561 trillion, with statutory transfers, debt servicing, recurrent spending and capital expenditure fully captured in the committee’s report.

On the 2025 fiscal year, Adeola said the initial N54.99 trillion Appropriation Act was repealed and replaced with a revised total of N48.316 trillion, adding that part of the capital allocation was deferred to the 2026 fiscal year due to funding limitations identified during the presidential budget presentation.

He disclosed that extensive consultations between the committee and the economic management team informed the repeal and re-enactment of the budgets, particularly to resolve issues relating to revenue performance, debt exposure and effective implementation.

Highlighting major adjustments, Adeola said an additional N8.5 trillion was injected into the capital component of the 2024 budget to fund special interventions addressing security, humanitarian and economic emergencies nationwide.

He added that the revised framework was designed to strike a balance between responsiveness and fiscal responsibility, ensuring that debt-related spending does not weaken legislative oversight or fiscal prudence.

For the 2025 budget, the committee observed that N6.674 trillion was removed from the capital allocation and deferred to the 2026 fiscal year to improve budget effectiveness in anticipation of improved revenue inflows.

Adeola cautioned against the continued practice of operating multiple budgets at the same time, warning that extending one budget while another remains in force erodes fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.

Based on these findings, the committee recommended that the Senate approve the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 Appropriation Act to authorise total spending of N43.5 trillion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, alongside the revised N48.3 trillion framework for the 2025 fiscal year, and extend the implementation of the 2025 budget to March 31, 2026.

The Senate subsequently passed the bills after extensive debate and third reading.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives also approved the revised N43.56 trillion 2024 budget and the N48.31 trillion 2025 budget after considering and adopting the report of its Committee on Appropriations.

The passage followed a clause-by-clause review of the estimates at the Committee of Supply and their final approval at plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.

Details of the revised 2024 budget show allocations of N1.74 trillion for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt servicing, N11.26 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N22.27 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.

Under the revised 2025 budget, N3.64 trillion is allocated for statutory transfers, N14.31 trillion for debt service, N13.58 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N16.76 trillion for capital expenditure through development fund contributions.

As with the Senate version, the implementation of the 2025 budget is expected to run until March 31, 2026.

In his communication to the National Assembly, President Tinubu said the revisions were required to accommodate previously omitted budget items and adjust capital implementation targets in line with Nigeria’s revenue realities and execution capacity.

He explained that the revised framework adopts a more realistic capital implementation benchmark of 30 per cent.

The president acknowledged persistent weaknesses in the execution of the capital component of the 2024 budget, noting that these shortcomings significantly undermined infrastructure delivery and development projects across the country.

According to him, extending the 2025 budget timeline to March 31, 2026, would give Ministries, Departments and Agencies sufficient time to access and utilise the targeted 30 per cent capital releases.

Tinubu said the move forms part of a broader fiscal reform agenda aimed at correcting structural flaws in Nigeria’s budgeting system, including the long-standing issue of overlapping budgets.

He stressed that ending the practice of running multiple budgets simultaneously would improve planning, enhance implementation and strengthen transparency and accountability in public expenditure.

The president added that the revised budget framework is intended to deliver more credible budget outcomes, better coordination of government programmes and improved value for money for Nigerians.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled by-elections for the Ahoada East II and Khana II state constituencies in Rivers State to take place on February 21, 2026.

This was announced in a statement released on Monday in Abuja by Malam Mohammed Haruna, Chairman of INEC’s Information, Voter Education and Publicity Committee.

Haruna explained that the decision followed an extraordinary meeting held on Monday, during which the commission assessed its readiness for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council end-of-tenure elections, which are also slated for February 21.

He said the meeting also considered and approved the draft timetable and schedule of activities for the by-elections in the Ahoada East II and Khana II state constituencies.

Explaining the legal framework for the decision, Haruna cited Section 116 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises INEC to determine election dates and conduct by-elections to fill vacant seats.

“The vacancy in the Ahoada East II Constituency arose as a result of the resignation of its member while that of Khana II resulted from the death of its member.
“The Speaker of the State’s House of Assembly had since notified the commission of the existence of the vacancies.
“By the Commission’s decision today, the notice for the two elections will be published on Jan. 22, 2026, while political parties will conduct their party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from the primaries, between Jan. 23 and Jan. 27, 2026.

“Parties and candidates will then commence their campaigns on Feb. 8, 2026 to end on Feb. 19. The elections will hold on Feb. 21, 2026.”

Six lawmakers from Rivers State in the House of Representatives, who were elected under the Peoples Democratic Party, have crossed over to the All Progressives Congress.

The Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, announced their defection notices during the special sitting convened for the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Bills.

In their defection letters, the representatives attributed their decision to ongoing crises that are destroying unity in their erstwhile party.

They praised the impressive performance of President Bola Tinubu’s government in the past two years and committed to supporting the administration’s efforts to reconstruct the country.

The defecting members include Dum Dekor (Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency), Solomon Bob (Ahoada East/Abua/Odual Federal Constituency), and Victor Obuzor (Ahoada West/Ogba Federal Constituency).

The others are Blessing Amadi (Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 2), Felix Nweke (Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo Federal Constituency), and Hart Cyril (Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency).

Several national APC officials were permitted into the chamber to observe the proceedings, including Deputy National Chairman (North) Ali Bukar, National Secretary Ajibola Basiru, and National Youth Leader Dayo Israel.

However, invoking a point of order, Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda asserted that defections announced on the floor of the House lack legal support, while Deputy Minority Leader Ali Isa maintained that the defectors risk losing their seats.

In his response, the Speaker recognised their concerns but emphasised that any lawmaker who wishes to formally notify the House of their defection is always allowed to do so.