Ekiti guber poll: SDP candidate is contesting —Party’s spokesperson

The National leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Friday dismissed a fabricated story alleging that the party had withdrawn from the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, June 20, 2026, describing it as false and misleading, and urging its members and the general public to disregard it.

This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Ayenigba.

ALSO READ: IGP assures peaceful gubernatorial election in Ekiti

The statement reads:

“The attention of the National Headquarters of our great party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has been drawn to a fabricated story alleging the party’s withdrawal from the Ekiti State governorship election scheduled to hold on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

“The Ekiti electorate and members of the general public are hereby assured by the National Chairman, Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe, and the National Working Committee (NWC), that the SDP is listed on the ballot and its candidate, Ambassador Isaac Adebayo Alade, a validly nominated candidate recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), particularly as one of the governorship candidates who signed the INEC Peace Accord, remains strongly in contention for the election.

“The false statement credited to a group of political jobbers should be discountenanced by the people of Ekiti State. The imperative of this disclaimer is not only to correct the deliberate disinformation by those individuals, but also to inform the public that the authors of the falsehood are political merchants and agents of the ruling party, led by an expelled former national chairman, Shehu Musa Gabam, who allegedly masterminded the wrongful and illegal inclusion and promotion of a person unknown to the party as our candidate in the public domain.

“It is instructive to note that INEC formally provided an access code to our National Secretariat for the uploading of the names of polling unit agents of the SDP, but inexplicably, officials of the Commission at the national headquarters refused to open the portal to enable us upload the party agents for the governorship election.

“The SDP hereby declares that an election in which the actions and inactions of the electoral umpire show undisguised bias becomes a nullity, considering that the deliberate exclusion of agents of a major opposition party like the SDP erodes the credibility of the process. The party will not accept disenfranchisement that is being orchestrated by the ruling APC.

“The SDP, as a national political party, remains the credible alternative platform that will deliver good governance, guarantee equitable socio-economic development, and shared prosperity for all the people of Ekiti State, irrespective of creed and social status.

“The SDP, with its record of contributions to the deepening of Nigeria’s political jurisprudence and democratic consolidation, will continue to be in the vanguard of promoting clean, fair and credible electoral processes, as well as sustainable development and national transformation.”