PDP Disowns Petition Against Adeleke's Election Victory

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) publicly disowned an election petition challenging the victory of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke in the governorship election held on August 15, 2026. During a news conference at the PDP's Abuja National Secretariat, National Publicity Secretary Jungudo Haruna Mohammed stated that the petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was not filed by the PDP and lacked the party's authorization.

Mohammed emphasized that only the National Legal Adviser of the PDP has the authority to file legal actions on behalf of the party, and the legal adviser did not delegate this authority to the petitioner, identified as Ochai Jacob Otokpa. Mohammed challenged Otokpa to provide the mandate under which he filed the petition.

He also noted that the purported PDP candidate had previously stated he did not authorize anyone to file the petition. The PDP plans to take immediate steps to withdraw the petition and has called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding its filing.