Nigeria: Two challenges contest Oyebanji’s victory in Ekiti on Monday
Following the withdrawal of the PDP's petition, two challenges remain before the Ekiti electoral tribunal, which has scheduled their hearings to begin on September 14.
The Ekiti State Electoral Petition Tribunal is set to begin hearings on Monday, September 14, in Ado-Ekiti regarding two petitions challenging the re-election of Governor Biodun Oyebanji. The petitions have been filed by the Social Democratic Party and the Action Alliance.
The SDP is represented by its candidate Isaac Adebayo Alade, while the Action Alliance is represented by Matthew Olu Omotoso. The three-judge panel, led by Abubakar Idris Kutigi, has scheduled the hearings to commence at 9:00 am after adopting the pre-hearing reports from the parties.
The SDP’s petition is registered under number EPT/EK/GOV/02/2026, and the Action Alliance’s petition is under number EPT/EK/GOV/03/2026. Both petitions challenge the outcome of the June 20 election in Ekiti, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Biodun Oyebanji the winner with 319,224 votes.
Isaac Adebayo Alade received 179 votes, while Matthew Olu Omotoso garnered 126 votes. A third petition is no longer before the tribunal: the candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party, Wole Oluyede, withdrew his petition on September 8, and the panel dismissed it after the governor’s counsel, the APC, and INEC did not oppose the withdrawal.
During the preparatory phase, the tribunal president instructed the petitioners’ lawyers to serve the documents to the parties in a timely manner and to present their witnesses at the start of the hearing. According to the schedule set by the panel, the SDP and its candidate will present their case first.
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