Renowned medical practitioner, Dr Wole Oluyede, has emerged winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Renowned medical practitioner, Dr Wole Oluyede, has emerged winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election in Ekiti State.

The primary, held in Ado-Ekiti, drew thousands of party faithful and featured 535 delegates from the 177 wards across the state, who voted to choose the party’s flagbearer ahead of the 2026 governorship election.

The voting centre was heavily secured by the army, police, civil defence, mobile police units and other security agencies to maintain order throughout the process.

The exercise, which began at 10:30 pm on Saturday, was concluded by 1:49 am on Sunday.

Chairman of the Primary Election Committee and Senator representing Gombe North, Ibrahim Dankwambo, announced Oluyede as the winner after he polled 279 votes, defeating Funso Ayeni, who scored 239, and Funmilayo Ogun with 17 votes.

Another aspirant, Peter Obafemi, withdrew from the race earlier in the night, declaring support for Oluyede.

Obafemi said his decision was made “not for personal gains but for the peace of the party,” describing Oluyede as “a man of integrity with the ability and agility to take the party to victory.”

In his acceptance speech, Oluyede described the outcome as a collective triumph for the PDP in Ekiti.

“Today marks a victory not just for me, but for every member of our great party in Ekiti State. In this election, there are no losers, only partners in progress and champions of democracy,” he said.

He praised the transparent conduct of the primary and thanked the party’s national leadership, especially the National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, and the PDP Southwest leader, Governor Seyi Makinde, for ensuring a level playing field.

Oluyede promised to rebuild trust and “reclaim Ekiti from the grip of misrule under the APC,” urging citizens to unite behind his candidacy.

“The spirit of maturity, sincerity and fairness shown in this primary demonstrates that true change is coming to Ekiti,” he said.

Despite congratulating the party for its efforts, Ayeni said aspects of the process were marred by “manipulation,” adding that he would explore internal mechanisms to address the concerns.

PDP Chairman in Ekiti State, Tunji Odeyemi, expressed delight over the conduct of the primary, describing it as a major step toward reclaiming the state from the APC.

“To God be the glory, a winner has emerged and that has been our target since I became chairman. Many thought this primary would lead to a crisis, but we have shown otherwise,” Odeyemi said.

He praised party members for their resilience, noting that the voting process stretched from morning to the early hours of the next day 

“Only one person can occupy the seat. Now that a candidate has emerged, we must reconcile and move forward together to win the election. We have all it takes to take over the governance of Ekiti State,” he added.

With Oluyede’s emergence, the PDP now begins the task of unifying its ranks ahead of a high-stakes showdown with the ruling APC in the 2026 Ekiti governorship election.