By Idowu Adebomi, Ado Ekiti
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election, Dr. Wole Oluyede, has called on his supporters and party members across the state to remain calm and resolute following the omission of his name and that of the PDP from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) published list of governorship candidates.
Addressing journalists at his residence in Ikere-Ekiti on Wednesday, Dr. Oluyede described the development as surprising, noting that his emergence as the PDP candidate followed a duly conducted primary election which, according to him, was supervised and witnessed by INEC officials.
He expressed concern that the omission could be interpreted as an attempt to disenfranchise the people of Ekiti State and deny them the opportunity to choose their preferred candidate in the forthcoming election.
“INEC witnessed the primary election that produced me as the winner. As an umpire, a referee should not decide which players feature for a particular team,” Oluyede said. “I am aware there are games and plans to frustrate our emergence, but I can assure you that I will be on the ballot in the next governorship election in Ekiti State.”
The PDP governorship hopeful urged Ekiti residents to remain law-abiding while calling on well-meaning citizens and stakeholders to prevail on INEC to correct what he described as an anomaly. He insisted that the electoral body should not succumb to alleged pressures from unnamed interests working behind the scenes.
“We call on Ekiti people to reject this announcement in strong terms and demand that INEC does the needful. If those in power have done well, they should not be afraid of my candidacy. Any attempt to use the backdoor to scuttle my mandate has failed from the outset,” he said, expressing confidence that he would emerge victorious in the election.
On his next line of action, Dr. Oluyede disclosed that consultations were ongoing, adding that party leaders and structures had been briefed and that further steps would be made public in due course.
He reaffirmed his commitment to defending the mandate given to him by party members, stressing that elections should reflect the will of the people.
“Blocking or disenfranchising the people through sinister moves will not be accepted. PDP remains the strongest and largest party in Ekiti State. I urge our supporters to remain calm and not panic. I will contest the election, and by God’s grace, I will win,” Oluyede added.
