Former Ekiti State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Ayodele Fayose, has said that all the governorship aspirants on the party’s platform are fooling themselves.
Fayose, who said that the PDP is dead in Ekiti State, added that Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, who is seeking re-election, is doing well and will have a landslide victory in the June 20, 2026 governorship election.
The PDP chieftain spoke in Ado Ekiti on Monday in a chat with journalists.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission had fixed June 20, 2026, for the Ekiti State governorship election.
The APC, PDP, and African Democratic Congress are the three leading parties in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
While Oyebanji has emerged as the APC candidate, four aspirants are seeking the PDP ticket, while five are jostling to become the ADC flag bearer.
The PDP aspirants for Saturday’s primary election are a medical expert, Dr. Wole Oluyede; former PDP State Secretary, Mrs. Funmi Ogun; Mr. Funso Ayeni; and aviation expert, Peter Obafemi.
Fayose said, “In the first place, where is the PDP in Ekiti? To be very honest, where are the party members? Where are PDP meetings being held? The party is totally moribund. It is just the same thing happening at the national level.
“If there is hope, then you can cling to the hope and bring out life out of it. There is no hope. The PDP is dead here in Ekiti. There are four aspirants in the PDP. The saddest story of any man’s life is to be fooling himself. The saddest thing for any man, the worst in your life as a PDP member or as somebody living in this world, is to be fooling yourself.
Tell me where you have seen a gathering of PDP, a credible gathering, people coming together to fight for the PDP in this state. I am a major stakeholder.
The majority of people contesting in this state, I brought them up. And I am telling you, the party for now is dead in Ekiti. I don’t know what tomorrow holds.”
The PDP chieftain said that although he was not an APC member and would not defect to the governing party, he was supporting Oyebanji to win the 2026 governorship election because of his achievements in office in the last three years.
Fayose said, “Oyebanji is doing well. I have said it back to back without apologies. I am not a member of the APC and I will never be. But I will not be a part of anybody coming to say that because I am in an opposition party, I must destroy what is good, I must condemn what is good. No.
“Oyebanji is the man the people of Ekiti want till 2030. And I am in support. We must be able to stand up for the truth. People know me for that. So, Oyebanji remains our governor,” Fayose said.
But the PDP chairman in Ekiti State, Tunji Odeyemi, condemned the remarks of the former governor against the governorship aspirants and the party, noting that the party had been repositioned to challenge the incumbent governor during next year’s poll and win.
