Ekiti 2026: PDP accuses INEC of bias, heads to court

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of bias following the exclusion of its governorship candidate from the list of candidates for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election, describing the action as a threat to democratic fairness and announcing plans to seek redress in court.

The party said INEC’s decision to omit the name of its candidate, Dr. Oluwole Oluyede, came despite the commission’s full participation in, and validation of, the party’s governorship primaries. 

The allegation was contained in a statement signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, on Tuesday. 

“The exclusion of the name and particulars of our candidate from the list of candidates for the 2026 Governorship Election in Ekiti State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet another confirmation of the biased disposition of the current leadership of the Commission towards the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the party said.

According to the PDP, INEC was duly notified ahead of the primaries, attended the exercise, and later issued monitoring reports confirming that the process complied with all extant laws and was democratically conducted.

“For the avoidance of doubt, INEC was duly notified of the conduct of our 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,” Ememobong said.

The party said INEC initially released nomination portal codes through which official nomination forms were accessed, but later blocked the codes a few days to the submission deadline, forcing the party to submit its documents manually at INEC’s office.

“Following this, INEC released the relevant nomination portal codes to our party, through which the official nomination forms were accessed, before they disingenuously blocked the code a few days before the submission date, causing us to resort to manual submission at their office (receipt of which was acknowledged),” it stated.

The PDP argued that INEC ought to have acted with caution, given the serious consequences of excluding a duly nominated candidate, and said the safest and most lawful option would have been to include Oluyede’s name in the published list.

“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 Dr. Oluwole Oluyede, the duly nominated candidate of the PDP, in the published list of candidates,” the party said.

It further maintained that there was no petition before INEC challenging Oluyede’s nomination and no court order restraining the commission from recognising him as the PDP’s candidate, stressing that INEC’s own monitoring report affirmed the validity of the primaries.

“There is no contrary submission before INEC disputing the validity of Dr. Oluyede’s nomination. There is also no court order restraining the Commission from recognising him as the PDP’s candidate,” Ememobong said.

Announcing its next move, the PDP said it had begun legal proceedings to compel INEC to reverse the exclusion, while reminding the commission of public expectations that it must remain neutral and impartial.

“Having failed to act appropriately, our party has immediately taken steps to approach the courts to compel INEC to do what it ought to have done in the first place,” it said.

The party warned that actions perceived as partisan could ultimately undermine the commission itself and damage public confidence in the electoral process.

“While we acknowledge the saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune, the Commission must be conscious that the tune currently being dictated is dangerously high-pitched and will ultimately harm the piper. INEC must always act in defence of democracy, and never in antagonism to it,” the PDP said. 

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