Ekiti 2026: Group blames APC for exclusion of Oluyede from INEC’s list

By : Ayodele Afolabi

Date: 13 January 2026 7:44am WAT

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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)for the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr Wole Oluyede

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)for the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr Wole Oluyede

Pressure group, under the umbrella of the Ekiti Liberation Agenda (ELA), has accused the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) of masterminding the alleged removal of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Wole Oluyede, from INEC’s official list of candidates.

According to ELA, the APC had earlier orchestrated the disqualification of some aspirants from the primary of the party, leaving only the incumbent governor as the consensus candidate.

The former Chairman of Ado Local Government, Ekiti State and the representative of ELA, Mrs Omotunde Fajuyi, who spoke yesterday in Ado Ekiti on behalf of the group, alleged that the omission of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate from the published INEC list was not accidental but a deliberate act.

She claimed that Oluyede had emerged from a free and fair primary election duly monitored and reportedly cleared by INEC officials, questioning why his name was later excluded without any formal explanation.

Fajuyi further alleged that the decision was influenced by the incumbent state government, claiming that those who approached the INEC Chairman were told he was ‘acting on orders’ .

According to her, the controversy surrounding the PDP candidate’s omission compounded earlier grievances within the All Progressives Congress (APC), where she alleged that credible aspirants, including Kayode Ojo and another female aspirant, Abimbola Olajumoke, were unjustly disqualified during party primaries without reasons.

She said the developments prompted her decision to step aside from partisan politics and join other concerned citizens to form the Ekiti Liberation Agenda, which she described as a platform to resist what she termed systemic injustice and political exclusion in the state.

She called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene, warning that continued silence by authorities could heighten tension in the state. She said: “When politics is being played in such a way that will not encourage the best option, we have issues where the ruling government disqualified one of our daughters and one of our sons, Kayode Ojo, and Jumoke.”

Reacting to ELA allegations, the Ekiti APC spokesman, Segun Dipe, described the group as a meddlesome interloper, saying they were anonymous people not known to the state politics. Dipe, who spoke via telephone, said: “The ELA that you are talking about is not known in the politics of Ekiti; they are just meddlesome interlopers.

“It is not possible for APC to mastermind the exclusion of any person, or to disqualify our member, but the national headquarters that conducts the primary, having not met some qualifications.

“On Oluyede, go and read the INEC position; it is clear they did not upload at the time they were supposed to do so. So, how did that concern us?

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