INEC Denies Forged Document on PDP Ekiti Primary Postponement

INEC Disowns Forged Letter, Affirms Ekiti Primary Date

INEC says a November 10 letter on a PDP Ekiti primary was forged; security agencies are probing. The ruling aims to protect electoral timetables and voter confidence.

Atlantic Post

November 21, 2025

2–3 minutes

Ekiti, Electoral Act, Electoral Integrity, Forgery, INEC, Nigerian Politics, Party Primaries, PDP, Security Agencies, Voter Education

By Osaigbovo Okungbowa

Senior Political Correspondent

The Independent National Electoral Commission has moved swiftly to deny the authenticity of a circulating correspondence that purported to record resolutions of a Peoples Democratic Party National Working Committee meeting and to announce the postponement of the PDP Ekiti State congress and governorship primary.

The Commission said the document, dated 10 November 2025, did not originate from the office of the Secretary to the Commission and that preliminary enquiries show the Secretary’s signature was forged.

This is not a trivial clerical error. INEC described the circulation of the document as a “serious electoral offence” and said it was collaborating with security agencies to investigate and bring perpetrators to book.

The statement, signed by Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, was distributed to national press outlets on 21 November 2025 and has been republished by major titles across the country.

The timing of the fake correspondence deserves careful scrutiny. A faction inside the PDP had earlier sought to postpone the Ekiti primary on logistical grounds, but the party went ahead on 8 November. The primary returned Dr Wole Oluyede as the PDP candidate with 279 delegate votes against 239 for his nearest rival and smaller totals for others.

That result has been reported and published by national press. The forged note dated 10 November would therefore have been a retroactive attempt to rewrite which faction had authority to deal with INEC and to muddy the water around the primary.

Forgery of election-related documents has become an increasingly visible instrument in intra-party wars. Only last month the PDP national secretary lodged petitions alleging the cloning of his signature on earlier correspondence to INEC, underscoring that the present episode sits inside a broader pattern of document manipulation that risks destabilising party processes and eroding voter confidence.

The law is explicit. Nigeria’s electoral framework criminalises the presentation and circulation of forged election documents and empowers INEC and security agencies to prosecute offenders. The Electoral Act and INEC guidance set out penalties for offences that range from substantial fines to custodial sentences in serious cases.

The Commission’s prompt public disavowal aims both to preserve the integrity of the timetable for the Ekiti governorship cycle and to deter copycat attempts to interfere with electoral administration.

Press release from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) addressing the authenticity of a forged document regarding the PDP Ekiti State congress and governorship primary. The document is labeled 'Press Release' and is signed by Mrs. Victoria Eta-Messi, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, dated 21 November 2025.

A sober take for party leaders and delegates is required. Ekiti State remains a closely contested political theatre with nearly one million registered voters on past records and with a history of low turnout in some polls.

In 2022 turnout was recorded at roughly 36.5 per cent of registered voters, a reminder that confusion and factionalism diminish the appeal of the ballot.

The manipulation of documents for tactical advantage therefore threatens not only internal party legitimacy but also public participation.

INEC’s public rebuke should now be matched by transparent action. Security agencies must pursue the forgery with forensic speed while political actors must resist the temptation to weaponise false paperwork.

If Nigeria is to deepen the rule of law around elections, the message must be clear: manufactured documents will not decide who speaks for a party or when electors go to the polls. The courts and investigators will have their say; for now INEC has drawn a line.