2026: ADC stands no chance in Ekiti guber race, says PDP chieftain

By : Ayodele Afolabi, Ado-Ekiti

Date: 22 August 2025 1:18am WAT

Wole Oluyede

A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2026 Ekiti State gubernatorial election, Dr Wole Oluyede, has said that his party and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are the real and top contenders for the election.

He also downplayed the emergence of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition and defection of some PDP and APC bigwigs to the party, saying that it will not in any way affect the chances of the PDP in the election.

The Australia-based medical doctor spoke while declaring his intention to contest for the election in his hometown, Ikere Ekiti, at Ward 03 (Igele Akosun) in the presence of the PDP leaders, his loyalists, party supporters and members.

Oluyede, who dismissed the insinuations in some quarters that the PDP is dead in the state and Nigeria, said the party remains a force to reckon with in the country’s political space.

The former APC chieftain posited that the ADC has no place in the Ekiti gubernatorial race, saying: “The ADC is a contraption of the people that are against President Bola Tinubu. ADC is not designed for the 2026 Ekiti governorship election, and we are not really bothered about it.

“The people who need to speak have spoken. It is not the endorsement of the few that matters, but the endorsement of the people who have spoken. We are claiming our rightful place as indigenes of this state that we are going to command and win with a landslide.

“The current governor has tried his best, and we have seen all he could do. We have always had governors for a term in the state. So, his time is up.

“I hereby declare my intention to run on the platform of the PDP as governor in 2026. And for those who are in doubt that the PDP doesn’t exist in Ekiti State, I think they can see now. We are on the march to claim Oke Ayoba in 2026. My family members are right behind me and fully supporting me. Ikere-Ekiti is ready to take its rightful place in Ekiti State politics. We are going to march and win with a landslide in the forthcoming governorship election.”