The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the provisional list of governorship candidates and their running mates for the June 20, 2026, Ekiti State governorship election, with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) conspicuously absent from the list. The development has intensified concerns over the lingering internal crisis rocking the opposition party.

Tele Oyegoke Hosts Community Welfare Programme Across Ifelodun/Boripe/Odo-Otin Federal Constituency

According to the list displayed at INEC’s state headquarters along New Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti, 12 political parties successfully submitted the names of their governorship candidates and deputies. However, the name of PDP’s governorship flagbearer, Dr. Wole Oluyede, a medical expert who emerged from the party’s primary election held on November 9, 2025, was missing.

Dr. Oluyede emerged from the primary organised by the Umar Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, a leadership structure that has continued to face legal and internal challenges within the party. Sources within the PDP suggest that the omission may be connected to unresolved leadership disputes and parallel party structures, which have affected the party’s ability to present a unified front to INEC.

Party insiders also revealed that conflicting court orders and disagreements over the legitimacy of the primary election may have prevented the submission or acceptance of the party’s nomination documents before INEC’s deadline. As of the time of filing this report, neither the PDP national leadership nor the Ekiti State chapter had issued an official statement explaining the omission.

Meanwhile, INEC has stated that the provisional list is subject to verification and corrections within the timeframe allowed by the Electoral Act. Political observers say the PDP risks being shut out of the 2026 Ekiti governorship race if the internal crisis is not urgently resolved and necessary documentation regularised before the final list is published.