The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission has accepted the list of chairmanship and councillorship candidates submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party faction backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for the December 29, 2026, local government elections.
The development means the Wike-backed faction will be allowed to take part in the council elections across the 33 local government areas of Oyo State.
The state electoral body received the list of candidates from the faction through a letter dated July 30, 2026. The document was signed by the state PDP chairman, Professor Rahman Akinoso, and addressed to the chairman of OYSIEC.
The party informed the commission of its intention to participate in the forthcoming council election and forwarded the names of its candidates for the various positions.
The submission followed the conduct of the party’s primaries, which the faction said were carried out peacefully and in accordance with the rules guiding the exercise.
OYSIEC was constituted by Governor Seyi Makinde, while the PDP has been facing an internal leadership dispute involving rival groups within the party.
The latest development is being viewed as a move by the state electoral commission to accept the leadership structure already recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission in preparations for the 2027 general elections.
INEC had earlier dealt with the National Working Committee led by Abdulrahman Mohammed in its electoral activities involving the PDP.
The dispute has also produced several court cases, with recent judgments reportedly backing the Abdulrahman-led national structure and cautioning against actions that could prevent a recognised political party or its candidates from participating in elections.
The acceptance of the candidates’ list has therefore cleared the way for the Wike-backed PDP faction to begin preparations for the Oyo council elections.
The party is expected to field candidates for chairmanship and councillorship positions across the state as political activities increase ahead of the December poll.
The decision could also deepen the political disagreement between the rival PDP factions in Oyo State, particularly the group associated with Governor Makinde and the faction supported by Wike.
Attempts to obtain the reaction of the Makinde-backed faction were unsuccessful as of the time of filing the report. OYSIEC also did not provide a separate public response to the development.
The Oyo State local government election is scheduled to take place on December 29, 2026.