Nomination Fee Fraud: PDP Disowns Unauthorized Accounts, Probes Internal Saboteurs

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a high-stakes internal investigation into a suspected ring of saboteurs following the discovery of a fraudulent scheme targeting party candidates through the illegal collection of nomination processing fees.

​In an urgent move to restore institutional integrity, the party leadership has completely disowned any directives instructing candidates to pay nomination fees into private company bank accounts. The party is now treating the circulation of these directives as a coordinated act of internal sabotage, aimed at undermining the party’s financial transparency and swindling its aspirants.

​”The PDP is a constitutional institution, not a private enterprise,” a senior party official stated today, confirming that an investigative probe is already underway to identify the culprits behind the unauthorized financial mandates. The party leadership is determined to flush out any bad actors within its ranks who may be colluding with external entities to divert funds intended for the party’s official coffers.

​The fraudulent scheme involved directing candidates to deposit nomination fees into private, third-party accounts, purportedly to facilitate the issuance of Certificates of Return, the processing of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination forms, and official candidate uploads. The party has clarified that no such arrangement has ever been authorized, and any individual or group propagating this directive is acting in gross violation of established party procedure.

​The party is sending a stern message to its members: the search for the saboteurs is not just about identifying the perpetrators but about safeguarding the entire electoral process. By attempting to bypass the PDP’s official, verifiable financial channels, these individuals have put candidates at significant risk of financial loss and electoral disqualification.

​The leadership has further emphasized that any promise of “fast-tracked” uploads or bypasses to official nomination processes through these private accounts is entirely fraudulent. Party organs are working to ensure that every kobo paid to the party for electoral processes is accounted for within its formal, audited accounting structures.

​As the probe intensifies, the PDP is calling on all candidates to remain vigilant and report any solicitations for payment that deviate from official channels. The party has reiterated that it will not hesitate to hand over any identified saboteurs—regardless of their status or position within the party—to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

​”Verify before you pay” remains the official command, as the PDP moves to excise the fraudulent elements threatening its internal discipline and financial accountability.