A fresh legal battle has opened in the build-up to the Ekiti 2026 governorship race as an aggrieved aspirant, Mrs Abimbola Olajumoke Olawuni, has taken the All Progressives Congress (APC) to court.
She is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to overturn the party’s governorship primary and stop Governor Biodun Oyebanji from standing as the APC candidate.
Olawuni said the exercise that produced Oyebanji was flawed from the start.
She told the court that the process ignored basic rules, shut out contestants, and violated both the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.
According to her, she met all requirements as a valid party member. She bought the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms and expected to take part in the final voting stage.
Mrs Abimbola explained that she was cleared at the initial level, only to be abruptly removed from the race during the September 24 screening.
The suit, marked FHC/ABM/CS/222/2025, was filed by her lawyer, Abayomi Oluwafemi Olawuyi. In the filing, she asked the court to cancel her “purported disqualification” and affirm her right to participate in the party’s nomination process.
She also wants an order stopping the APC from excluding her in any fresh primary. Olawuni insisted the September 24 screening was “a sham” and lacked proper compliance with section 84 of the Electoral Act and the guidelines issued by the party.
The plaintiff further requested an interim injunction to halt the APC from “conducting, concluding or forwarding the name of governor Oyebanji” to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidate for the upcoming election.
The matter has now been assigned to Justice Peter Odo Lifu, who is expected to take it up in the coming days.
