The Kabiru Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party, PDP says it will approach the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to include the name of its candidate, Wole Oluyede on the list of those contesting the Ekiti Governorship Election scheduled to hold on June 20, 2026.
INEC had released the list of candidates and running mates of 12 political parties for the June 20, 2026, Governorship election in Ekiti state which has been displayed at the INEC head office in Ado-Ekiti, the State Capital on Monday, excluding that of the PDP.
Reacting in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP says the exclusion of the name and particulars of Wole Oluyede from the list of candidates for the 2026 Governorship polls is yet another confirmation of the biased disposition of the current leadership of INEC towards the affairs of the Party.
The PDP explained that INEC was duly notified of the conduct of the party’s Governorship primaries. The Commission attended and monitored the exercise and subsequently issued reports confirming that the primaries complied with all extant laws and were democratically conducted. Following this, INEC released the relevant nomination portal codes to the PDP through which the official nomination forms were accessed. The statement further says INEC disingenuously blocked the code a few days before the submission date, causing the party to resort to manual submission at INEC’s office and receipt of it which was acknowledged.
The PDP explained further that being fully aware of the grave and far-reaching consequences of excluding a validly nominated candidate from an election, INEC ought to have acted with caution and responsibility by including the name of Oluwole Oluyede, the duly nominated candidate of the PDP, in the published list of candidates. This, it says would have been the safest and most lawful course of action for the Commission, had it acted without bias.
The PDP added that there is no contrary submission before INEC disputing the validity of Oluyede’s nomination, there is also no court order restraining the Commission from recognising Oluyede as the party’s candidate as it says INEC’s own monitoring report attests to the validity of the primaries and the nomination process.
The party stresses that having failed to act appropriately, the PDP has immediately taken steps to approach the courts to compel INEC to do what it ought to have done in the first place, while it undertakes this long and tortuous legal route, it again draws the attention of INEC to the expectations of Nigerians that the Commission must remain independent, impartial, and neutral in matters relating to political parties and the electoral process.
The PDP added that INEC must be conscious of the tune currently being dictated which is dangerously high-pitched and will ultimately harm the Commission as INEC must rather always act in defence of democracy and never in antagonism to it.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
