Reasons PDP Could Finish Behind APC and ADC in Ekiti Governorship Election

• Ekiti is set to elect new governor with 16 candidates competing, including incumbent Biodun Oyebanji
• PDP might struggle because of its internal challenges and might come after the ADC and the APC in the election
• Registered voters in Ekiti increased by 66,000 compared to 2022, totaling over 1 million

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The people of Ekiti are set to elect a new governor for their state in the Saturday governorship election in the state. The race is between 16 governorship candidates, including the incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji.

Also, the Ekiti governorship election is expected to have a turnout of 1,059,360 residents, who are registered voters in the state. The registered voters were said to have increased by 66,000, compared to the number of registered voters in the 2022 governorship elections in the state.

Among the 16 political parties that will be participating in the election are three major leading parties, which are the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, analysis has shown that the PDP may come in third in the election.

The PDP, which once controlled Nigeria at the national level and was the dominant party in the state, may not be pulling a surprise in the election. This is due to a number of factors coming up ahead of the elections.

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Why APC will win Ekiti election

First, there is no chance that the PDP would outsmart the ruling APC in the election, considering the fact that it is the ruling party in the state. The APC has federal and state might as well as state architecture to win the election ahead of the opposition in the state.

All the State House of Assembly members and federal lawmakers are members of the APC. This made the ruling APC the dominant political party in the state.

Why ADC may perform better than PDP

Also, the PDP might come after the ADC in the election. Though the ADC became a party to re-establish contact with following its adoption as the coalition movement's party. The movement was led by the former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who double as the party's presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections.

Aside from Atiku, the ADC is having the backing of Rauf Aregbesola, the former governor of Osun and a national secretary of the party. Aregbesola is a prominent political figure in southwest politics and winning the Ekiti election would make a strong statement for the party.

PDP internal crisis weaken the party

At the same time, the PDP is internally weak, not only in the state but at the national level. This is as many of its strong leaders in the state are backing Oyebanji, the candidate of the ADC.

For instance, Ayodele Fayose, the highest ranking PDP leader in Ekiti, has publicly endorsed Oyebanji and attended one of his campaigns in the state.

UK to monitor Ekiti, Osun governorship elections

Legit.ng earlier reported that British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has said that the United Kingdom will deploy observers to monitor the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.

Montgomery made the comment during his visit to the APC national chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, at the party's national headquarters.

According to the British commission, the UK respects Nigeria's sovereignty but has a keen interest in the country's democratic and economic progress.