PDP Challenge Irregularities in Ekiti Loss, Ready for Legal action

The People’s Democratic Party on Sunday said it was gathering and reviewing evidence of reported vote-buying, voter intimidation, and electoral irregularities from the Ekiti governorship election and would take legal action through the electoral tribunal if its assessment of the evidence supported a formal petition against the result.

PDP candidate Dr Wole Oluyede, who polled 40,543 votes against APC winner Biodun Oyebanji’s 319,224, said his party had received field reports from agents across multiple local government areas and was carefully documenting every alleged violation for consideration by the party’s legal team. Oluyede thanked Ekiti voters who supported the PDP and said the party would continue to engage the state’s electorate going into future elections.

PDP National Leadership Issues Statement

PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba called on INEC and security agencies to address the observer reports of vote-buying and ballot irregularities, saying that ignoring such conduct would set a dangerous precedent for Nigerian democracy ahead of 2027. He said the PDP respected the right of voters to make their choices but insisted those choices must be made free from inducement or intimidation.

Femi Falana, who had led the nationwide June 12 protests, said the Ekiti election outcome underscored his earlier point that democratic governance must be measured by the quality of the process, not just the announcement of results. He said courts and civil society must hold electoral bodies and political parties accountable for conduct during elections, not just their outcomes.

Atiku Watches Ekiti as Barometer

Meanwhile, Atiku Abubakar’s ADC campaign team said the Ekiti result reinforced the need for a broad and disciplined opposition coalition capable of mounting a credible national challenge in 2027. However, Atiku did not issue a formal statement on the Ekiti result. Notably, the Court of Appeal’s stay of the party deregistration order means the ADC remains a viable platform for the 2027 presidential election. Consequently, the PDP and ADC are separately processing the Ekiti outcome and drawing lessons for their respective 2027 strategies.