Ekiti guber 2026: INEC lists Wole Oluyede as PDP candidate

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially listed Wole Oluyede as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Ekiti governorship election scheduled for June 20.

The commission also published Ogunsakin Ayodeji as the PDP’s deputy governorship candidate.

Earlier, in the list released in January, INEC had omitted Oluyede’s name as the PDP candidate for the election.

However, in a judgment delivered on March 12 by the court of appeal in Akure, Ondo State capital, the court directed INEC to include Oluyede’s name as the party’s standard-bearer in the state.

In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the court of appeal overturned the earlier ruling of a federal high court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, which had nullified the party’s primary election.

The panel, led by Peter Chudi Obiorah, ruled that the PDP primary that produced Oluyede complied with the provisions of the party’s constitution as well as the Electoral Act.

Oluyede, a medical expert, emerged as the PDP governorship candidate in November.

He polled 279 votes to defeat his closest rival, Funso Ayeni, who secured 239 votes in the primary election conducted by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) led by Kabiru Turaki.