By Idowu Adebomi, Ado Ekiti

The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dare Adeleke, has faulted a High Court judgment that voided the PDP’s May 2025 Local Government Congress while upholding the controversial Ward Congress of 15 March.

In a statement, Adeleke dismissed the ruling as “flawed” and “jurisdictionally unsound,” accusing unnamed party figures, pointedly linking them to former governor Ayo Fayose, of striking clandestine deals with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“It is common knowledge that some individuals are negotiating with the APC. As you all know, that is Ayo Fayose’s trait, but I assure you their plans will fail,” Adeleke said angrily.

He alleged that the High Court in Ado Ekiti had acted prematurely, deciding the matter at the preliminary objection stage, and revealed that an appeal and a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) had already been filed against the presiding judge:

“We rely on the Supreme Court judgment which emphasised that no court should interfere with party affairs. Justice Omotosho is collaborating with Fayose, Funsho Ayeni their Abuja coordinator,” he accused.

The judgment has intensified factional tensions in the Ekiti PDP, where Adeleke has been at the forefront of calls for Fayose’s expulsion over what he terms “serial anti-party offences.”

Fayose, a two-time governor and one of the PDP’s most recognisable figures in the South-West, has in recent months cultivated an unusually warm relationship with the state’s APC governor and publicly endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Party insiders say this latest court ruling could tilt internal power dynamics in Fayose’s favour which translates to in favour of the APC particularly as his loyalists control many ward structures, structures that the court has now effectively legitimised.

The PDP’s National Working Committee now faces a high-stakes decision: move decisively against Fayose and risk deepening internal fractures in Ekiti, or tolerate his overtures to the APC and potentially alienate grassroots members already distrustful of the national leadership’s resolve.

For Adeleke, injustice shouldn’t be allowed. His directive for local government executives and ward leaders to “continue with their duties” signals a bold move to counter those he sees as enemies of the party in the state.