A Federal High Court in Abuja has faulted the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission to exclude the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Dr. Oluwole Oluyede, from the list of candidates for the 2026 election.
Delivering judgment in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/40/2026, Justice Umar held that the exclusion of Oluyede by the electoral commission was unlawful and granted all the reliefs sought by the candidate and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The court directed INEC to immediately recognise Oluyede as the party’s governorship candidate and include his name and the party’s logo on the ballot for the forthcoming Ekiti governorship election.
Justice Umar also granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the commission from further rejecting or excluding the candidate from activities related to the election.
Oluyede had earlier been presented with a certificate of return as the PDP candidate for the 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State by the party’s National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki (SAN).
However, the PDP alleged that INEC, under the leadership of its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), refused to include Oluyede’s name on the list of candidates for the election.
Following the development, the candidate and the party approached the court to challenge what they described as the commission’s lack of legal authority to exclude a duly nominated candidate.
Reacting to the judgment in a statement issued on Thursday, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said the party welcomed the ruling, describing it as a confirmation that justice had been served.
“We welcome this judgment as a confirmation of the reality in Ekiti and acknowledge that indeed justice has been served,” Ememobong said.
He also urged INEC to operate within the confines of the law and avoid actions that could undermine democratic processes.
“We admonish INEC to act within the confines of the law and refrain from unbridled partisanship. The commission is aware of several judgments to the effect that it cannot exclude lawfully nominated candidates,” he said.
Ememobong further warned the electoral body to learn from the country’s political history and protect Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.
He said, “They should remember the historic negative roles which past electoral commissions played in the collapse of democracy in previous republics and consciously act in favour of protecting multi-party democracy.”
The party added that with the legal dispute resolved, its members in Ekiti State should mobilise support ahead of the governorship election.
“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 added.
