Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has formulated six issues for determination before the Election Petition Tribunal hearing petitions arising from the June 20, 2026 governorship election in the state.
Oyebanji, who contested the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after polling 319,224 votes.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr Oluwole Oluyede, came second with 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Chief Dare Bejide, finished third with 12,872 votes.
Two petitions were filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Action Alliance (AA) before the three-member tribunal panel chaired by Justice Abubakar Kutigi. The tribunal continued its sitting in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Monday.
The SDP candidate, Adebayo Alade, polled 179 votes, while the AA candidate, Olu Omotoso, secured 126 votes. The PDP’s Oluyede has since withdrawn his petition before the tribunal.
As part of efforts to strengthen his defence, Oyebanji, through his legal team, formulated six issues for determination in response to the SDP petition.
The issues include whether the petition is competent in view of alleged violations of the Electoral Act 2026 and other fundamental defects, and whether the petition is incompetent due to the non-joinder of the APC as a necessary party.
The governor also asked the tribunal to determine whether the petitioners had proved that his election was invalid due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2026 or alleged corrupt practices.
Another issue concerns whether the petitioners had established that Oyebanji was not elected by a majority of lawful votes cast during the election.
The sixth issue asks whether, based on the circumstances and evidence before the tribunal, Alade is entitled to be declared the duly elected Governor of Ekiti State following the June 20 election.
Five issues were formulated by Oyebanji for determination in the AA petition, with the issues substantially similar to the first five raised in response to the SDP petition.
The papers containing the governor’s issues for determination were signed by his legal team led by Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN.
Meanwhile, the SDP is expected to open its case on Monday by calling witnesses to testify before the tribunal.
