A federal high court in Ado-Ekiti has nullified the governorship primary conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti state ahead of the 2026 election.
The court also ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary in compliance with the law and its internal guidelines.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Babs Kuewumi, presiding judge, in a suit marked FHC/AD/CS/29/2025 and filed by Funso Ayeni, a governorship aspirant, against the PDP and the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).
Ayeni had challenged the validity of the primary that produced Wole Oluyede, arguing that the party “failed to present the original and authentic list” of statutory and ad hoc delegates used for the exercise.
He contended that the absence of the original delegates’ list amounted to a fundamental breach of the PDP guidelines and the Electoral Act, thereby invalidating the primary election.
In his judgment, Kuewumi held that the conduct of the primary did not comply with the provisions of the law and the party’s constitution.
The judge consequently nullified the exercise and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary election in strict adherence to the law and relevant guidelines. He ordered INEC to monitor the election.
He further directed that all eligible aspirants must be allowed to participate in the new primary to guarantee transparency, fairness, and internal democracy within the party.
Oluyede, a medical expert, was elected the PDP gubernatorial candidate on November 8.
He secured 279 votes to defeat Ayeni, his closest challenger, who received 239. The election was conducted by the PDP national working committee (NWC) backed by Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo.
