By Our Correspondent
A political pressure group in Ekiti State has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the alleged removal of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s provisional list of candidates for the 2026 governorship election.
The group, Ekiti Liberation Agenda, described the omission of Oluyede’s name as deliberate and capable of undermining democratic principles in the state. According to the group, Oluyede emerged from a duly conducted PDP primary election monitored by INEC, making his exclusion from the list difficult to justify.
Speaking on behalf of the group, its coordinator alleged that political interference may have influenced INEC’s action, claiming that the development has heightened tension among party supporters and stakeholders in the state’s political space.
The group urged President Tinubu to ensure fairness and transparency in the electoral process by directing relevant authorities to investigate the matter and restore Oluyede’s name to the list if no legal impediment exists.
The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has, however, rejected the allegations, distancing itself from the controversy. The ruling party maintained that it had no hand in the omission and insisted that the matter was purely an internal issue between INEC and the PDP, possibly linked to procedural lapses in the submission of candidate documents.
Meanwhile, calls have continued for INEC to clarify the circumstances surrounding the omission in order to protect public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
