The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened to sue the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after its governorship candidate for the 2026 Ekiti State election, Dr Oluwole Oluyede, was omitted from the provisional list of candidates.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP accused INEC of bias and deliberate obstruction.
The party described the exclusion as “yet another confirmation of the biased disposition of the current leadership of the Commission towards the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party”.
INEC published the provisional list on Monday, featuring candidates from 12 political parties for the off-cycle election scheduled for 20 June 2026. Notably absent were the names of Oluyede and his running mate.
Read the related story on New Daily Prime:Turaki led PDP faction woos Obasanjo ahead Osun, Ekiti elections
The PDP insisted that INEC had been fully involved in its primaries, which it monitored and later confirmed as compliant with electoral laws.
The party was initially granted access to INEC’s online nomination portal, but claimed the access code was “disingenuously blocked” days before the submission deadline, forcing a manual handover of documents at INEC headquarters. This submission was acknowledged in writing by the commission.
“There is no contrary submission before INEC disputing the validity of Dr Oluyede’s nomination,” the statement read.
“There is also no court order restraining the Commission from recognising him as the PDP’s candidate. Indeed, INEC’s own monitoring report attests to the validity of the primaries and the nomination process.”
The PDP warned that INEC’s action posed a grave risk to public confidence in the electoral process, cautioning that the commission must act independently “in defence of democracy, not in antagonism to it”.
Read the related story on New Daily Prime:PDP faction says party ‘back and ready’ after meeting Obasanjo ahead of Osun, Ekiti polls
Having exhausted administrative remedies, the party announced it had “immediately taken steps to approach the courts to compel INEC to do what it ought to have done in the first place” include Oluyede on the official list.
INEC has indicated the list remains provisional, with a final version due in January 2026.
For more details, visit New Daily Prime at www.newdailyprime.news
