Makinde-backed PDP releases election timetable, fixes cost of presidential nomination, expression of interest forms

The faction also fixed N5 million for the expression of interest form and N35 million for the nomination form, totalling N40 million.

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has released its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections.

The Organising Secretary of the faction’s Interim National Working Committee (NWC), Theophilus Shan, announced this in a statement on Monday shortly after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. The interim committee is chaired by Kabiru Turaki, chairman of the NWC invalidated by the Supreme Court.

Mr Shan said the NEC approved N10 million for the presidential expression of interest form and N90 million for the nomination form, bringing the total cost to N100 million.

For the governorship position, the faction fixed N5 million for the expression of interest form and N35 million for the nomination form, totalling N40 million.

The expression of interest form for the Senate was pegged at N3 million, while the nomination form costs N7 million, bringing the total to N10 million.

For the House of Representatives, the expression of interest form was fixed at N2 million and the nomination form at N5 million, totalling N7 million.

The expression of interest form for state Houses of Assembly was set at N500,000, while the nomination form was pegged at N1.5 million, bringing the total to N2 million.

Female aspirants are exempted from paying for nomination forms and will only pay for expression of interest forms. Youth and persons with disabilities are expected to pay 50 per cent of the nomination fees for their chosen offices.

The fees are significantly higher than those of the rival PDP faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, which fixed the total cost of its presidential expression of interest and nomination forms at N51 million.

The Wike-backed faction also set the nomination fees for governorship at N31 million, Senate at N7 million, House of Representatives at N4 million, and state Houses of Assembly at N3 million.

One immediate implication for the difference in pricing is elite alignment. Aspirants, particularly those without deep financial war chests, are more likely to gravitate toward the Wike-backed faction where entry costs are lower. This could tilt the balance of aspirants and by extension, political legitimacy towards that bloc.

There is also a perception battle at play. Lower fees can be framed as more inclusive and people-oriented, while higher fees risk reinforcing criticism of Nigerian parties as elite-driven platforms that limit access to wealthy contenders.

At the same time, the Makinde faction may be deliberately setting high fees to control the quality and number of aspirants, deter unserious candidates, and raise substantial funds to sustain its parallel structure amid the legal uncertainty surrounding party leadership.

Legally, however, both factions face a bigger challenge which is validity of outcomes. With the PDP yet to resolve its leadership dispute following the Supreme Court judgment, any primaries conducted by either bloc risk being contested. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) traditionally recognises only candidates emerging from processes conducted by duly recognised party leadership, raising the possibility that one faction’s candidates could ultimately be invalidated.

This creates a scenario where aspirants must weigh not just cost, but risk whether to invest heavily in a process that may not produce legally recognised candidacies.

The timetable

According to the timetable, the sale of forms for all positions will commence on 5 May and end on 13 May, while the deadline for submission is 14 May.

Screening of aspirants will be conducted from 15 to 18 May, with screening appeals scheduled for 21 May. The list of cleared aspirants will be published on 22 May.

Ward primaries for all offices will be held on 27 May, while appeals arising from the primaries will be heard on 28 May.

A NEC meeting will be held on 29 May to approve all nominated candidates, followed by a special convention on 30 May for the ratification of candidates.