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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Dr Wole Oluyede has emerged as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Saturday, June 20, 2026, governorship election in Ekiti State.
Oluyede emerged as the candidate after he defeated his closest rival, Hon. Funso Ayeni, and Hon. (Mrs) Funmilayo Ogun, who came a distant third, in the Saturday, 8 November governorship primary election that took place in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of the state.
But before the commencement of the election, one of the contestants, Dr Peter Obafemi, stepped down for Oluyede and declared his support for him.
Obafemi said his decision was not for personal gain but for the peace of the party. He described Oluyede as a man of integrity, adding that he has all it takes to take the party to victory if he emerges as the party’s candidate.
The keenly contested election began with the accreditation of delegates from across the 177 wards and 16 Local Government Areas of the state around 5:00 pm under the watchful eyes of members of the election committee, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and newsmen.
The election, which commenced at about 10:30 at night, was concluded around 1:30 am on Sunday. After which, the results were collated and announced at the same venue.
Announcing the results, the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, who also doubles as the Senator representing Gombe North Senatorial District, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, declared Oluyede as the winner with 279 votes.
Dankwambo also announced that Funso Ayeni polled 239 votes and Funmilayo Ogun scored 17 votes, respectively.
In his acceptance speech, Oluyede described the outcome as a collective triumph for all members of the PDP, commending the spirit of fairness and transparency that characterised the process.
The PDP candidate expressed gratitude to the party’s national leadership for their role in ensuring a credible primary.
“I congratulate members of the PDP in Ekiti State. Today marks a victory not just for me but for every member of our great party in Ekiti State.
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“In this election, there are no losers, only partners in progress and champions of democracy. The spirit of maturity, competitiveness, sincerity, and fairness that characterised the primary election shows that the true change is coming to Ekiti State. Together, we have demonstrated that internal democracy is alive and thriving in our party.
“I wish to sincerely thank the leadership of our great party, especially our national Chairman, Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum, for his unwavering support, commitment and fairness to transparency. I also express my profound gratitude to our leaders in the Southwest, His Excellency Engr Seyi Makinde, for ensuring a level playing field for all the aspirants. Your leadership has strengthened our faith in the democratic process.
“To my fellow aspirants, I salute your courage, dedication and sportsmanship. This victory belongs to all of us together. And together we must now unite as one family to deliver victory for the PDP in the forthcoming election.
“To the good people of Ekiti State, I assure you that I will not let you down. I will work tirelessly to justify the trust and confidence you have placed in me. Our mission is there, to restore hope, rebuild trust and to reclaim our state from the grip of misrule. Let us come together hand in hand to move Ekiti forward. Let us unite to keep the All Progressives Congress out of power and return good governance to our dear state.”
Responding to the outcome of the election, one of the contestants, Funso Ayeni, said, “Four aspirants contested keenly, but I can assure you the process was not perfect and when a process is not perfect we try to use internal process to also correct it. Definitely, this is not the end of the process, I will say.”
Also reacting, the Chairman of the party in the state, Rt. Hon. Tunji Odeyemi, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the primary. He said it is a major step towards the party’s goal of reclaiming the state from the APC.
Odeyemi commended the contestants, delegates and the entire members of the party for their resilience throughout the exercise. He assured that the party will reconcile all the contestants for the benefit of the party and for the PDP to achieve victory in future elections.
“To God be the glory, a winner has emerged and that has been our target since I became the chairman. Many thought this primary would lead to crisis, but we have shown otherwise.
“And we are not just targeting the emergence of a candidate but getting to that seat. My vision and target is to take over the government of Ekiti and this is a major step in that direction. We have all it takes to take over the governance of Ekiti State from the All Progressives Congress and by the grace of God we will get there.
“The vacant seat was just one, and now that they have all put in their best to contest for that position, and a candidate has emerged, we will reconcile the reconcilables, and we will forge ahead to win the governorship election.”
