A governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election, Engr. Kayode Ojo has been granted a provisional clearance.
The state governorship screening committee said that the final decision has been referred to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) for further consideration.
A female aspirant, Abimbola Olawumi, was however disqualified.
The screening exercise was held in Abuja on Wednesday.
The panel said: ‘Engr. Kayode Ojo: Granted provisional clearance, with the final decision referred to the National Working Committee (NWC) for further consideration.
“This referral is necessitated by the weight of the petitions against him, particularly his failure to satisfy the mandatory threshold of five valid nominators per local government, and is intended to forestall potential litigation(s) that may arise from this deficiency which is inconsistent with Article 9(1) of the APC Constitution, which provides that only registered and financially up-to-date members of the Party have the right to vote and be voted for, and paragraph 6(c) the Guidelines for Nomination of Candidates’.
On Olawumi, the panel said: ‘Disqualified on grounds of lack of evidence that she is financial up-to-date member in compliance with Article 9(1) of the APC Constitution, which provides that only financially up-to-date members of the Party are entitled to vote and be voted for; and Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which requires membership of a political party as a prerequisite for eligibility to contest the Office of Governor’.
The panel, which also has Comrade Naseer Kura, Hon. Ramatu A. I. Faruq, Alhaji Suleiman Tanimu Abubakar, Engr. Shehu Umaru Dange, and Smart Iheazor as members, and Oghenovo Otemu as Secretary, cleared the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji, and another female aspirant, Atinuke Oluremi Omolayo, for the primary coming up in October 2026.
On Oyebanji and Omolayo, the panel said that he was cleared, having satisfied all constitutional and party requirements.
The report of the panel revealed that the screening began at 11am on 23 September 2025.
It said it adopted a rigorous and transparent process, which included examination of documents submitted by aspirants (nomination forms, academic credentials, and other supporting documents); verification of party membership status of aspirants and their nominators; report of the vetting committee; and consideration of petitions submitted against the aspirants and responses thereto.
