January 13, (THEWILL) — A Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has nullified the nomination of Dr. Wole Oluyede as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming June 20, 2026, election.
The court has subsequently ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary election.
Justice Babs Kuewumi, delivering the judgment on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, upheld allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the initial PDP primary held in November 2025.
The legal challenge was brought forward by one of the aspirants, Dr. Funso Ayeni, who garnered 239 votes but alleged that the process was compromised.
Ayeni approached the court with evidence that the delegate list approved for the primary was unlawfully altered on the day of the exercise.
He argued that this manipulation undermined the credibility and transparency of the internal election, a claim the court ultimately found meritorious.
In his ruling, Justice Kuewumi held that the primary was tainted by a gross abuse of process and violated the PDP’s own electoral guidelines.
The court further ruled that the conduct of the exercise was inconsistent with the provisions of both the PDP Constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria regarding internal party democracy.
Consequently, the court nullified Dr. Oluyede’s nomination and directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in strict compliance with relevant electoral laws.
The ruling comes as a significant blow to the PDP’s efforts to challenge the incumbent, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, who was affirmed as the APC consensus candidate in October 2025.
The PDP has not yet indicated whether it will appeal the judgment or immediately set a date for the court-ordered fresh primary.
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