The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the just-concluded Ekiti State governorship election, Dr. Wole Oluyede, has revealed what he requested from the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and winner of the election, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, when he visited his residence in Ikere-Ekiti.

Earlier, Oluyede had rejected the outcome of the election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), citing a systemic compromise of the electoral process, ranging from technical failures to open financial inducement.

Recall that the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, declared Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of Saturday’s governorship poll after he secured 319,224 votes to defeat his closest rival, Dr. Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 40,543 votes, while the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ambassador Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.

Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on the outcome of the surprise post-election visit by Governor Oyebanji, Oluyede noted that the governor claimed to be unaware of the arrests of his supporters but gave a firm commitment to look into the actions of the security agencies.

He said the release of his members was the only request he made of him, noting that democracy cannot thrive if individuals are not allowed to tread the path of their convictions.

His words: “If I lost in a free, fair and credible contest, I would have no difficulty accepting the outcome.

“However, if there was widespread negligence, misconduct, intimidation, or disregard for established electoral procedures, then we must confront those realities honestly.

“I am not leaving politics. There is no personal conflict between Governor Oyebanji and myself. Politics should not be viewed as warfare, but I am equally committed to principles, accountability and the continuous improvement of our democracy.

“Concerning reports that some of my supporters have been arrested or harassed, I raised the matter directly with Governor Oyebanji during his visit. It was, in fact, the only request I made of him.

“He assured me that he was unaware of the incidents and promised to investigate the matter. I have reason to believe steps are already being taken to address these concerns.”

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Movement (APM) in Bauchi State, Dr Yakubu Adamu, has said the state can increase its internally generated revenue by tapping into its large base of social media users.

Speaking in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) Hausa, Adamu argued that Bauchi should receive a share of the revenue generated by major social media companies.

“Considering the large number of people using social media in this state, we should be receiving a share of the revenue, but we have never received even a kobo from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other modern platforms. We want to recover these funds from these companies so that our revenue can increase,” he said.

The APM candidate also stressed that attracting investors requires the government to create a business-friendly environment.

“A company will not come unless you provide opportunities or create a favourable environment for it. For example, how will you make taxes easier for investors? How will you provide land for them to operate? How will you simplify regulations and improve security so that when they come, they will feel confident and comfortable?” he said.

Adamu further recalled that Bauchi State had previously hosted an investment summit attended by both local and foreign investors, during which investment commitments worth nearly $6 billion were secured.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday adjourned a suit filed by Mr Nafiu-Bala Gombe, seeking to stop David Mark and others from parading themselves as leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, until June 30.

The matter, which was fixed for hearing of all pending applications, could not proceed.

Earlier when the matter was called, all the lawyers to the parties were present except Mr Suleiman Usman, SAN, counsel for Mark.

With the agreement of counsel, Justice Peter Lifu stood down the matter for 15 minutes to give Usman the opportunity to also be heard, and another case was called pending the senior lawyer’s arrival.

However, after the case ended, Justice Lifu stood down proceedings and rose.

Lawyers were then asked to take another date after waiting for some minutes.

Justice Lifu had, on June 16, fixed Tuesday for hearing of all the pending applications after he dismissed the application seeking his recusal from the case.

The judge, who held that the two motions filed by ADC and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (1st and 3rd defendants) lacked merit, awarded a fine of N1 million each against ADC and Aregbesola, National Secretary of the party, in favour of Gombe.

ADC and Aregbesola had, in separate motions, asked Justice Lifu to withdraw from the suit filed by Gombe, citing alleged bias.

Gombe, in the suit, is seeking an order restraining Mark, Aregbesola and members of their interim National Working Committee, NWC, from parading themselves as the party’s leaders.

He had argued that the emergence of Mark, Aregbesola and other interim NWC members breached the provisions of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

Gombe had sued ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Ralph Nwosu as 1st to 5th defendants respectively in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025.

Nwosu was the former ADC National Chairman who stepped down for the David Mark-led Interim National Working Committee.