The Federal High Court, Abuja, has issued a significant ruling, confirming Dr Wole Oluyede as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for June 20, 2026.

On Friday, the presiding judge issued a ruling acknowledging substantial validity in the reliefs requested by the applicant, thereby overturning the prior exclusion of the party from the electoral process.

The court characterised the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) refusal to publish the PDP candidate’s name as both “illegal and unlawful”.

The court determined that INEC exceeded its statutory authority by failing to publish the PDP candidate’s name after the completion of the party’s primary process.

The court issued an Order of Mandamus, compelling and directing INEC to immediately include and publish Dr Wole Oluyede’s name on the official list of candidates for the Ekiti polls.

The judgement clarified that INEC has no legal authority to unilaterally disqualify or refuse the publication of a candidate submitted by a recognised political party without a valid legal basis.

This ruling marks a major turning point in the Ekiti governorship race

PDP Applauds Verdict, Declares Justice Served

In a statement, the People’s Democratic Party welcomed the judgment, declaring it had served justice. The statement reads:

“The judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Honourable Justice Umar, has granted all the reliefs sought by Dr Oluwole Oluyede and the Peoples Democratic Party in the suit FHC/ABJ/CS/40/2026 against the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“Specifically, the court frowned at the exclusion of Dr Oluwole Oluyede, who was the governorship candidate of the PDP in Ekiti, and directed the Commission to immediately recognise the candidate and include his name on the list of candidates and the logo of the party on the ballot for the Ekiti governorship elections. The court further granted an order of perpetual injunction preventing the Commission from further rejecting or excluding the candidate from activities related to the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti State.

“Dr. Oluwole Oluyede was presented with a certificate of return by the National Chairman of the Party, Kabiru Turaki, SAN, as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2026 governorship elections in Ekiti. However, INEC, under the leadership of Prof. Joash Amupitan SAN, flagrantly and unlawfully refused to include his name on the list of candidates. The candidate and the party approached the court to question the legal authority of the commission to act in the manner it did.

“We welcome this judgement as a confirmation of the reality in Ekiti and acknowledge that indeed justice has been served. Furthermore, we admonish INEC to act within the confines of the law and refrain from unbridled partisanship. The Commission is aware of several judgements to the effect that it cannot exclude lawfully nominated candidates, as in the instant case. They should remember the historic negative roles which past electoral commissions played in the collapse of democracy in the past republics and consciously act in favour of protecting multi-party democracy, and not otherwise.

“With this over, the path to victory in the Ekiti Governorship election is clear, and we charge our members to hit the campaign trail with their message of redemption through the candidature of Dr. Oluwole Oluyede”.

The statement was signed by Comrade Ini Ememobong, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP.

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