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

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

The Australia-based medical doctor spoke while declaring his intention to contest 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 PDP is dead in Ekiti State and Nigeria, said the party still remains a force to reckon with in the country political space.

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

“The people who want to win election in Ekiti are either in PDP or APC. At the end of the day, we will know who defect to ADC or not. But I can tell you, as you can see, only few people have left PDP for ADC so far in Ekiti State. We know and we can count them on our fingers.”

The governorship hopeful, who declared that it is the masses and not the former privileged few who will determine who wins the election, said, “The people that need to speak have spoken, it is not endorsements 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.

“Since the creation of this state in 1996, no governor has emerged from this our southern senatorial district of the state. Ikere always serve them, it is because we are not covetous and not that we are fools, but the time has come, we have given those little towns enough opportunities to rule the state.

“The present 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 PDP as governor in June 2026. And for those who are in doubt, that PDP doesn’t exist in Ekiti, I think they can see now, the blind can see and the deaf can hear and the almighty God has signed and sealed it. We are on the march to claim Oke Ayoba in 2026. My family are right behind me and fully supporting me. Ikere Ekiti is ready to take its rightful place in Ekiti politic. We are going to march and win with a landslide in the forthcoming governorship election.”

“Are things better than it was four years ago? The truth is that I have not held any political office in Ekiti and I’m not seeking any appointment or any attention, I don’t need it but Ekiti needs attention. The roads were better four years ago, people were happier four years ago, their worth as human beings was better four years ago, but things have changed over time. That is the only reason why I am running.

“I have no other reasons to run other than the fact that we need to make lives better. This is my hometown, the first time I came here was in 1970, I think I was seven years old then and I can’t see anything that has changed. There is no running water, no tarred road, all the houses are breaking down. Is that a sign of growth or a sign of things getting better? That is the reason why I am running and I will keep on running until things get better.”