A federal high court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has set aside the governorship primary conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State ahead of the 2026 election.
Gatekeepers News reports that the court, in its ruling delivered on Tuesday by Justice Babs Kuewumi, directed the party to organise a fresh primary election in line with the Electoral Act and the PDP’s internal rules.
The suit, marked FHC/AD/CS/29/2025, was filed by Funso Ayeni, a PDP governorship aspirant, against the party and the Independent National Election Commission.
Ayeni had asked the court to invalidate the primary that produced Wole Oluyede, insisting that the process was flawed because the party failed to present the original and authentic list of statutory and ad hoc delegates used for the exercise.
He added that the failure amounted to a serious violation of party guidelines and electoral laws governing the conduct of primaries in Nigeria.
In his judgment, Justice Kuewumi held that the primary election did not meet the requirements of the law or the PDP constitution, noting that compliance with delegate procedures is a key element of internal party democracy.
He subsequently nullified the exercise and ordered the PDP to conduct a new governorship primary under strict legal compliance, with INEC mandated to monitor the process.
The court further ruled that all qualified aspirants must be allowed to take part in the fresh primary to ensure fairness, transparency, and credibility, adding that political parties are bound to follow their own rules once they are laid down.
Oluyede, a medical professional, emerged as the PDP’s candidate during the disputed primary held on November 8, where he polled 279 votes to defeat Ayeni, who scored 239 votes.
The exercise was conducted by the PDP national working committee and reportedly had the backing of the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde.
