INEC emphasized that all political parties are mandated to submit candidate nominations exclusively through the commission’s designated electronic portal. This requirement casts significant doubt on the faction’s claim that, after being allegedly denied access codes for the platform, it subsequently completed a valid manual submission.

Victoria Ita-Messi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, addressed the faction’s claims during an interview in Abuja on Friday. While she could not confirm whether physical documents had been received by the commission, she unequivocally stated that any manual submission of candidate lists contravenes established electoral procedures.

“I am not in a position to confirm that to you, but can only tell you that there are procedures for submitting the names of political parties’ candidates to the INEC portal,” Ita-Messi stated. She further questioned the logic of the faction’s position, asking, “If the faction claimed that they were denied access to the code, how did they submit the list of their candidates to the commission?”

INEC’s response follows a press conference held by the Turaki faction in Abuja on Thursday, where it announced the purported submission of its 2027 candidate roster. The faction asserted that this list contained the names of former President Goodluck Jonathan for the presidency, alongside various governorship and National Assembly candidates.

The faction alleged that INEC withheld the necessary access codes to upload their candidates to the online platform, forcing them to resort to manual submission. National Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ini Ememobong, maintained that this manual filing process was in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

Furthermore, Ememobong accused INEC of bias in the ongoing PDP leadership crisis, alleging that the commission has failed to maintain neutrality and disregarded pertinent facts and court rulings regarding the party’s internal dispute.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Cole emphasized that the prolonged dispute has deepened existing divisions. He called for a unified, broad-based effort to reconstruct the state, urging stakeholders to look beyond party affiliations for the greater good.

The APC chieftain disclosed that he has already begun initiating contact with political actors and stakeholders across various divides in an effort to mend fences and foster unity.

“I am one of those that have reached out across the board to different people, calling them and saying to them that, look, we have fought a fight that has left Rivers State further back 20 years than we have ever been in our entire history as a state,” Cole stated. “And this is one of the times when we now must all come together to build a new Rivers State.”

Cole argued that the rebuilding process must be inclusive, drawing competent individuals from all political spectrums rather than being dominated by a single faction. In his view, the collective interests of the state must supersede individual or party political differences.

He added, “We have to do that across party lines. We don’t care whether you are PDP, whether you are APC, whether you are ADC, whether you are NDC. What we care about now is that Rivers State has to seek the best from everywhere, bring them together, and let us forge a master plan that allows us to move forward.”

Reflecting on the past, the former candidate maintained that political confrontation and division have yielded no tangible development for the state.

“Because we have tried the division, we have tried the fighting, and that has failed. So, how do we move the state forward? And that’s where we are,” Cole remarked.

Cole reiterated that active measures are being taken to unite aggrieved parties and secure a shared commitment toward progress in Rivers State.

“So we are reaching out to all aggrieved parties, and we are bringing everybody together to say, you know what? Can we agree that we now need to move Rivers State forward?” he explained.

Concluding his remarks, Cole issued a stark warning that failure to reconcile these political camps could result in another damaging cycle of conflict, further hindering the state’s advancement.

“The only way to do that is to bring the best from all the camps and let us put ourselves together so that we can deliver a new Rivers State,” he stated. “That is how we build this new state. If not, we’re going into another very bitter division, which will not progress us.”