Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has raised six issues for determination before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal hearing petitions challenging the outcome of the June 20, 2026 governorship election in the state.

The tribunal, chaired by Justice Abubakar Kutigi, is expected to continue sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Monday, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) set to open its case by calling witnesses.

Oyebanji, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with 319,224 votes.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr Oluwole Oluyede, came second with 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Chief Dare Bejide, polled 12,872 votes.

Two petitions are currently before the three-member tribunal, filed by the SDP and Action Alliance (AA), alongside their respective candidates.

Oluyede of the PDP had earlier withdrawn his petition.The SDP candidate, Adebayo Alade, polled 179 votes, while the AA candidate, Olu Omotoso, secured 126 votes in the election.

In his defence, Oyebanji raised six questions for determination in the SDP petition, challenging the competence of the petition and the allegations against his election.

Among the issues are whether the petition complied with the Electoral Act 2026, whether the failure to join the APC as a necessary party renders the petition incompetent, and whether the petitioners proved that the election was invalid due to non-compliance with electoral laws.

He also asked the tribunal to determine whether the petitioners proved allegations of corrupt practices and whether they established that he was not elected by a majority of lawful votes cast.

The governor further questioned whether Alade had proved his entitlement to be declared the duly elected Governor of Ekiti State based on the June 20 election.

For the Action Alliance petition, Oyebanji formulated five issues, which are substantially similar to the first five issues raised in the SDP petition.

The issues were contained in papers signed by Oyebanji’s legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu.

The tribunal is expected to hear evidence from witnesses as the opposition parties seek to establish their respective challenges to the election results.