The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it will close the submission nomination forms for its November 15 and 16 National Convention on October 27.

A statement by the chairman of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) and Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, yesterday, noted that aspirants for National Working Committee (NWC) seats, who have submitted their Expression of Interest and Nomination would be screen on October 28.

The PDP at its 102 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting had announced the zoning of its 2027 presidential ticket to the South and retained the national chairmanship of the North.

Leaders of the opposition party in the North, at a meeting on Wednesday night, settled for former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki, as its consensus candidate for the national chairmanship position.

The meeting was attended by Governors Fintiri; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi and Dauda Lawal, Zamfara, PDP National chairman, Umar Damagum, former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau,, former Senate president, Bukola Saraki, Turaki amongst others.

Fintiri, who briefed journalists on the outcome of the meeting said: “We have met this evening to deliberate and take decision on the office of the chairman of our great party, the PDP, which was zoned to the north.

“And in our meeting, we have reflected deeply and widely through consultation and going to Ibadan for our national convention, we have adopted a consensus candidate to represent the North, and by extension, Nigeria, as the chairman of the PDP.

“And that gentleman is KT Turaki, SAN. This is our decision this evening, and he is the person we are presenting at that convention as our chairman to represent our party,on the 15 and 16 of November in Ibadan.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees (BoT) has said allegation by the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, that his signature was forged in the correspondence from the party to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on its November 15 and 16 National Convention was misleading.

The BoT chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, in a statement, yesterday, said Anyanwu signed the correspondence in the presence of members of critical organs of the party on August 25.

The PDP scribe, had in three different petitions dated October 15 and addressed to the acting INEC chairman, the Director General Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), alleged that his signature was forged in a letter by the PDP, dated August 25, to the electoral body notifying it of the national convention.

However, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, has refuted the allegations, stating that Anyanwu signed the letter, alongside three other correspondences, at a meeting between members of the National Working Committee ( NWC) and critical stakeholders of the party.

The BoT chairman, while corroborating Ologunagba’s position, said: “It is on record that the said INEC notification letter was jointly signed by the National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum and Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the National Secretary, on August 25, 2025, during the 102nd meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP.

“The signing took place in the presence of critical organs and stakeholders of the party, including members of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the Board of Trustees and other NEC members who witnessed the process.

“Subsequent to this, Senator Anyanwu was formally inaugurated as the Secretary of the Contact and Mobilisation Sub-Committee for the 2025 National Convention. In that capacity, he co-signed official communications of the sub-committee, including letters of appointment issued to its members, alongside the Sub-Committee Chairman, His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State.

“Furthermore, Senator Anyanwu, in his capacity as Sub-Committee Secretary, personally signed and transmitted a letter seeking financial approval for the inaugural meeting of the sub-committee. These verifiable correspondences, bearing his signatures, are in the custody of the party and relevant Convention Committees.”

Wabara added: “Such allegations, regrettably, can only be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to cast aspersions on the integrity of the party’s leadership and processes and to misinform security agencies and the general public.

“The Board of Trustees reaffirms that the Peoples Democratic Party remains cohesive, resolute and unwavering in its commitment to democratic values, transparency and internal harmony.

“The forthcoming PDP 2025 Elective National Convention scheduled to hold on Saturday, November 15 and Sunday, November 16, 2025 in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, shall by every measure, be a credible and unifying exercise reflective of the PDP’s long-standing tradition of internal democracy.” (The Sun)