Politics
INEC adds SDP candidate Ajala to Osun governorship ballot
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has added the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Francis Olugbenga Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, to the ballot for Saturday’s Osun State governorship election scheduled to hold on Saturday, August 15, following a Federal High Court judgment.
INEC announced the development in a statement signed by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, on Wednesday.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wishes to inform the public that the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the Osun State Governorship Election, Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, have been added to the ballot for the election,” the commission said.
It noted that the decision followed a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 22, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, involving the SDP and Ajala against INEC.
“This action has been taken in compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered on 22nd July 2026 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, between Social Democratic Party and Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala on the one hand and the Independent National Electoral Commission on the other.
“The Court had ordered the Commission to forthwith recognise, accept, upload, process and publish the name and particulars of Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party,” it added.
The commission explained that the commission was consequently reproducing the ballot papers for the election to accommodate Ajala and his running mate, noting that the development increases the number of political parties to 15.
“Consequently, the ballot papers for the election, scheduled to hold on Saturday, 15th August 2026, are being reproduced to reflect this addition, bringing to fifteen (15) the total number of political parties contesting the election. The result sheets for the election are also being reproduced alongside the ballot papers to reflect the inclusion of the SDP candidate.”
Assuring political parties, candidates and voters of its commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election, INEC said the new ballot papers were expected to arrive in Osun State on Thursday, August 13, and would be moved the same day to the commission’s offices in the state’s local government areas as part of its standard distribution procedure.
The ICIR reports that the inclusion comes just three days before voters are scheduled to elect the next governor of Osun State where at least 2.3 million voters expected to participate.
INEC’s earlier final list of candidates for the Osun election contained 14 political parties, with the SDP absent, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) were among the major parties that did not field candidates for the poll.
Ajala’s inclusion follows weeks of legal and political controversy over who should represent the SDP in the election. The dispute was connected to an internal leadership crisis within the SDP and competing claims over the validity of the party’s governorship nomination.
In July, however, the SDP leadership led by Sadiq Gombe maintained that Ajala was its legitimate candidate and urged INEC to comply with a Federal High Court judgment recognising the party’s candidate.
The party said the court had affirmed the legitimacy of its current National Working Committee and the validity of its Osun governorship primary, arguing that an earlier judgment relied upon by a rival faction of the party had been affected by a subsequent Supreme Court decision.
The SDP had insisted that Ajala remained its duly nominated candidate and that the plaintiff in the earlier litigation was neither the party’s candidate nor a participant in its governorship primary.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.
