Why I abandoned my Ekiti election case — PDP candidate Oluyede

By Obaloluwa Darasimi

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, Wole Oluyede, has given insight into what transpired during the election and why he withdrew from challenging the election outcome.

Oluyede earlier contested the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election by heading to court because, according to him, the June 20 election did not meet the standard of a truly free, fair and credible election.
He has since discontinued the legal challenge.

Mixed reactions have trailed Oluyede’s decision to withdraw the legal challenge.
Setting the records straight, the PDP governorship candidate said, contrary to series insinuation in different quarters, he said he did not trade the election.

“I did not collect a kobo from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the APC or anybody else in exchange for withdrawing my case.

“I did not sell my mandate.

“My integrity is not for sale. My decision to withdraw the petition followed extensive consultations and personal reflection. I consulted members of my family, political associates, members of my legal team and people whose advice I respect.

“I also considered the broader national interest. I had to ask myself whether prolonged litigation over the governorship election would ultimately serve the greater political and national objectives that I have supported for many years.

“After careful consideration, I chose statesmanship. That decision should not be interpreted as an admission that I considered the election perfect. Neither should it be seen as an acceptance that all the concerns raised by our campaign were unfounded.

“It was simply a decision to move forward,” Oluyede said.

Oluyede was of the view that there are moments in politics when personal ambition must be weighed against a larger national responsibility. For me, this was one of those moments.

Clarifying the circumstances surrounding the visit of Ekiti State governor, Biodun Oyebanji and the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, to his residence on Sunday, June 21, 2026, the day after the election, he disclosed that he received them as brothers, and the meeting was cordial.

“To the best of my recollection, our discussion had nothing to do with the conduct or the outcome of the election. Rather, we discussed our past relationship and the need for all of us, irrespective of our political differences, to work together in the interest of Ekiti State.

“I also used the opportunity to raise the plight of some of my supporters who had been detained during the election. The Governor promised to look into their situation, and I am grateful that he subsequently followed through on that commitment.

“We also discussed the need for us to explore ways of working together to make Ekiti better and move the State forward. That, to me, was the essence of the visit and our conversation.”

Why insisting that he had no personal problem with Governor Oyebanji, believes the governor deserved credit for the visit to his residence the day after the election, just as he believed he also deserved credit for receiving him with an open heart and treating him with the respect due to a brother, even though we had just contested against each other politically.

Saying, “That, to me, is how politics should be conducted. We may disagree politically and contest elections against one another, but that should not automatically make us enemies. Beyond politics, we are all Ekiti people, and we have a responsibility to work together for the progress and development of our State.”

Oluyede revealed that within minutes of the Ekiti governor’s visit, he started receiving telephone calls and visits from political leaders and members of the electorate, “demanding their share of a purported financial settlement from the governor.”

Oluyede said he was shocked to discover that rather than seeing the visit as an opportunity for reconciliation and a demonstration that political differences need not destroy personal relationships, some people chose to twist the narrative and portray the meeting as a financial settlement.

“I find this particularly unfortunate because one of the problems with our political culture in Ekiti is the tendency to reduce every political interaction to money. If a politician visits another politician, people immediately ask how much money changed hands. If two political opponents sit together, the first assumption is that there must have been a financial settlement.

“That is not the kind of political culture we should encourage.

“Political disagreements and electoral contests should not be allowed to destroy personal relationships. Politics should be about service, ideas and the future of our people, not a game in which every relationship is interpreted through the lens of money and every act of goodwill is turned into an opportunity for blackmail or character assassination. Ekiti deserves better than that,” Oluyede maintained.

He said that after careful consultations and reflection, he decided to move forward. “My withdrawal should not erase the lessons of the election. The results and the conduct of the election must be studied carefully as we prepare for 2027.

“We must learn from what happened, address the weaknesses exposed by the election and build a stronger, more credible electoral and grassroots mobilisation process, he concluded.