Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)for the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr Wole Oluyede
• Group blames APC for exclusion of Oluyede from INEC list
A federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has voided the last Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election won by Wole Oluyede and ordered a fresh governorship primary exercise in the state.
This was as a pressure group, Ekiti Liberation Agenda (ELA) accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of masterminding the alleged removal of Oluyede from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official list of candidates.
Oluyede had emerged winner of the gubernatorial primary election conducted on November 8, 2025, by the Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo-led electoral committee. He got 279 votes to defeat Funsho Ayeni and Mrs Funmi Ogun.
In the suit numbered FHC/AD/CS/29/2025, Ayeni is challenging Oluyede’s victory in the election, alleging that the party failed to present the original and authentic list of statutory and ad hoc delegates used for the exercise.
Ayeni argued that the absence of the original delegates’ list constituted a fundamental breach of the PDP guidelines and the Electoral Act, thereby rendering the primary election null and void.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Babs Kuewumi, held that the conduct of the primary did not comply with the provisions of the law and the party’s constitution.
The judge consequently nullified the election and ordered the PDP, in conjunction with INEC, to conduct a fresh governorship primary, in strict compliance with the law and relevant guidelines. He further directed all eligible aspirants to participate in the fresh primary election, to ensure transparency, fairness and internal democracy within the party.
During the hearing, Kola Kolade (SAN) led other lawyers to represent Ayeni, while Ola Olanipekun (SAN) and Owoseni Ajayi represented Oluyede. The Osun State Legal Adviser of the party, Ola Alonge, held brief for the PDP.
Speaking with newsmen via telephone, counsel to the defendant, Owoseni Ajayi, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling of the court, disclosing that the process for appeal had commenced, including filing for a stay of execution.
ACCORDING to ELA, the APC had earlier orchestrated the disqualification of some aspirants from the PDP primary, leaving only the incumbent governor as the consensus candidate.
The former Chairman of Ado Local Council, Ekiti State, and the representative of ELA, Mrs Omotunde Fajuyi, who spoke yesterday in Ado Ekiti on behalf of the group, alleged that the omission of the PDP candidate from the published INEC list was not accidental but a deliberate act.
She claimed that Oluyede had emerged from a free and fair primary duly monitored and reportedly cleared by INEC officials, questioning why his name was later excluded without any formal explanation.
Fajuyi further alleged that the decision was influenced by the state government, claiming that those who approached the INEC chairman were told he was ‘acting on orders’.
Reacting to ELA’s allegations, the Ekiti APC spokesman, Segun Dipe, described the group as a meddlesome interloper, saying they were anonymous people not known to the state politics.
Dipe, who spoke via telephone, said: “It is not possible for APC to mastermind the exclusion of any person, or to disqualify our member, but the national headquarters that conducts the primary, having not met some qualifications.
“On Oluyede, go and read the INEC position; it is clear they did not upload at the time they were supposed to do so. So, how did that concern us?”
