The Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise Dr. Oluwole Oluyede as the valid Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming 2026 election in Ekiti State.
Delivering judgment on Friday in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/40/2026, Honourable Justice Umar granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.
The court directed the electoral body to include Dr. Oluyede’s name in its list of candidates and display the PDP logo on the ballot paper for the poll.
The judgment also includes an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC from further rejecting or excluding the candidate from any electoral activities related to the Ekiti State governorship election.
The legal dispute arose after the PDP conducted its primary and presented Dr. Oluyede to INEC as its candidate, complete with a certificate of return issued by the party’s National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki, SAN.
However, INEC, under its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, had allegedly refused to publish Oluyede’s name, prompting the party and its candidate to seek judicial intervention.
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, shortly after the ruling, the PDP welcomed the decision, describing it as a confirmation of the political reality in Ekiti.
The statement was signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong.
“We welcome this judgment as a confirmation of the reality in Ekiti and acknowledge that indeed justice has been served,” the statement read.
The party used the opportunity to issue a strong warning to the Commission, urging it to adhere strictly to the rule of law.
“Furthermore, we admonish INEC to act within the confines of the law and refrain from unbridled partisanship,” the statement continued. “The Commission is aware of several judgments to the effect that it cannot exclude lawfully nominated candidates.
They should remember the historic negative roles which past electoral commissions played in the collapse of democracy in the past republics.”
With the legal obstacle now cleared, the PDP declared that the “path to victory” is clear and called on its members in Ekiti to mobilise immediately.
“We charge our members to hit the campaign trail with their message of redemption through the candidature of Dr. Oluwole Oluyede,” the party added.
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