The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has thrown its weight behind Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party, despite a Court of Appeal judgment affirming the party’s own candidate, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, for Saturday’s governorship election.
The decision was announced on Thursday, August 13, by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP Interim National Working Committee, Ini Ememobong, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.
According to the PDP, the appellate court on Wednesday upheld the nomination of Adedamola as the party’s candidate for the August 15, 2026 governorship election and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately include the PDP logo on the ballot papers.
The party said its legal team informed it that the court found that the PDP had duly conducted its governorship primary, which was monitored by INEC, and subsequently forwarded the name of the winner to the electoral commission.
The court also ruled, according to the PDP, that the access code required for nomination on INEC’s online portal was merely an administrative requirement and could not override the statutory obligation of a political party to forward the name of its candidate to the commission.
The PDP described the judgment as a vindication of its position on the controversy surrounding its candidate, while accusing INEC of deliberately frustrating the party’s participation in the election.
“This judgment confirms the persistent bias and unceasing opposition by INEC against the legitimate leadership of our party, in favour of pretenders who are working for the ruling party,” Ememobong said.
The party maintained that the primary election that produced Adedamola was peaceful, transparent and uncontested, stressing that the exercise was duly monitored by INEC.
It accused the electoral commission of subsequently refusing to recognise its candidate and withholding the codes required to upload the candidate’s details, forcing the party to seek judicial intervention.
Although the PDP welcomed the Court of Appeal judgment, it expressed frustration that the ruling came too late for its candidate to effectively campaign ahead of Saturday’s election.
“Though justice has finally been done, in this case the grant of justice is akin to a denial as there is no opportunity for our candidate to undertake campaigns in preparation for the elections,” the party said.
The PDP blamed INEC for the situation, alleging that the crisis could have been avoided if the commission had acted responsibly and impartially.
It further reiterated its position that the electoral commission was not operating as a neutral umpire.
“We reiterate our position that INEC is not a neutral umpire, but more of an interested party with the goal of achieving an uncontested or weakly contested election by the opposition parties, in favour of the ruling party,” Ememobong stated.
Despite the court victory, the PDP said it would not allow the development to weaken its opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The party said that following consultations with key stakeholders, its Interim National Working Committee had taken what it described as a “consequential decision” to support Adeleke in Saturday’s election.
“As a true opposition party and in defence of multi-party democracy, and after exhaustive consultations with key stakeholders, the Committee has decided to support the candidature of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party for Saturday’s governorship elections,” Ememobong stated.
The PDP described Adeleke as a former member of the party who left following what it called a “state-engineered and funded leadership conflict” within its ranks.
The party subsequently directed its members in Osun State to vote for Adeleke in the election.
“We therefore ask all our members to vote for Governor Adeleke,” the PDP declared.
The opposition party also urged its members to participate actively in the election, defend their votes and ensure that their ballots are counted.
“We encourage them to go out on Saturday to vote, defend their votes and ensure that their votes count in the election,” Ememobong added.
The PDP further accused the APC of adopting what it described as a “do or die” approach to elections, alleging that the ruling party was seeking to win elections in areas where it lacked popular support.
“Nigerians must resist the shameful do or die disposition of the APC to win elections in places where they are not popular, against the clear wishes of the people,” the party said.
The PDP insisted that election outcomes must reflect the freely expressed wishes of voters through the ballot, warning that any outcome contrary to the will of the electorate would amount to electoral “robbery.”
The development comes just two days before the August 15 Osun governorship election, leaving the PDP in the unusual position of backing Adeleke of the Accord Party even after the Court of Appeal recognised the PDP’s own candidate, Adedamola, and ordered INEC to place the party’s logo on the ballot.