The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of candidates for the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for June 20, 2026.
According tothe list, candidates cleared to contest include Opeyemi Falegan of theAccordParty, Akande Oluwasegun of the African Action Congress (AAC), Ayodeji Ojo of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Oluwadare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Bidemi Awogbemi of the Action People’s Party (APP).
Notably absent from the list are Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and David Bankole of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
INEC had earlier omitted the PDP candidate’s name when it displayed the provisional list of candidates at its Ado-Ekiti headquarters in December 2025.
The omission followed a ruling delivered on January 13 by a Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, which nullified the PDP governorship primary that produced Oluyede as the party’s candidate.
The court also directed the PDP to conduct a fresh primary election in line with the Electoral Act and the party’s internal guidelines.
Oluyede, a medical expert, emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate in November after polling 279 votes to defeat his closest rival, Funso Ayeni, who scored 239 votes. The primary was conducted by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) aligned with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde.
The PDP has since been embroiled in a protracted leadership crisis that has split the party into factions, with one campbackedby Governors Makinde andBalaMohammed of Bauchi State, and another aligned with Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Last month, INEC declined to recognise the NWC chaired by Kabiru Turaki, which is supported by Makinde and Mohammed.
The commission said its decision was based on multiple court judgments, stressing that it would not update its records to reflect any changes in the PDP’s national leadership until ongoing legal disputes over the party’s national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November are resolved.
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