In what political analysts have described as a victory for democracy, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Screening Committee sitting in Abuja has dismissed petitions seeking to disqualify governorship aspirant, Engr. Kayode Olubunmi Ojo, from the 2026 Ekiti governorship primaries.
Recent reports indicated that some self-acclaimed APC stakeholders from Ekiti submitted petitions to the party’s Screening Committee, alleging irregularities in Ojo’s nomination form. Their claims included insufficient valid nominators—54 confirmed out of 122 listed, below the mandatory 80—and a lack of the required geographic spread of five nominators from each local government area.
Reacting, Ojo’s spokesperson, Alhaji Deji Ayelabowo, described the petitioners as “jesters and desperate people,” insisting that no amount of political scheming could prevent his principal from contesting. Ojo himself expressed strong confidence in his candidacy, declaring: “Nobody can undo what God has done.”
The Ikoro-Ekiti-born business mogul and current Chairman, Governing Council University of Nigeria, Nsukka further vowed to challenge Governor Biodun Oyebanji on the political field, not through backroom tactics. “I will defeat Oyebanji on the field, not in the boardroom,” he told journalists after the screening exercise.
Following a thorough review, the APC Screening Committee ruled that the petitions lacked merit and substance, effectively clearing Engr. Kayode Olubunmi Ojo to participate in the upcoming primaries and, subsequently, the 2026 governorship election.
