The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that Dr. Wole Oluyede is the valid candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State.
The judgement, delivered on Friday, March 6, followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/40/2026 challenging the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission to publish the party’s candidate for the election.
In the ruling, Justice Umar held that the electoral commission acted outside its powers by declining to list the PDP candidate after the party conducted its primary.
The court described INEC’s decision as both “illegal and unlawful”, stating that the commission lacked the legal authority to exclude a candidate submitted by a recognised political party without a valid legal basis.
Justice Umar ruled that the arguments presented by the applicant carried significant merit and consequently granted the reliefs sought in the suit.
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As part of the orders issued, the court directed INEC to immediately recognise and publish Oluyede’s name on the official list of candidates for the Ekiti governorship poll.
The judgement included an Order of Mandamus compelling the electoral body to include the PDP candidate in the election process.
The court also clarified that INEC does not possess discretionary power to unilaterally disqualify or refuse the publication of a candidate presented by a political party once the candidate has emerged through the party’s internal process.
According to the ruling, the responsibility of the electoral commission in such circumstances is largely administrative and must be exercised within the limits of the law.
The decision effectively overturns the earlier exclusion of the PDP from the governorship contest, restoring the party’s participation in the forthcoming election.
With the court’s order now in place, attention is expected to shift to INEC’s next steps in implementing the judgement ahead of the June 20 election.