Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured a second term in office after emerging victorious in the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Oyebanji winner of the keenly contested poll in the early hours of Sunday following the completion of results collation from the state’s 16 local government areas.
Announcing the final outcome at the state collation centre in Ado-Ekiti, the Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, disclosed that the APC candidate recorded a landslide victory with 319,224 votes.
According to her, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwole Oluyede, garnered 40,543 votes to finish a distant second, while Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) polled 12,872 votes.
Professor Oladiji stated that 384,940 voters were accredited for the election.
She added that 375,777 votes were deemed valid, while 6,332 ballots were rejected after the conclusion of the exercise.
The declaration came after hours of collation that began late Saturday night at the state collation centre.
Results from all 16 local government areas showed overwhelming support for the incumbent governor, who dominated the poll across virtually every part of the state.
The APC recorded impressive margins in major local government areas, including Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti East, Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ikole, Ijero and Ekiti West, strengthening Oyebanji’s path to victory.
Earlier in the day, voting commenced across the state’s 2,445 polling units, with election officials, security personnel and observers deployed to oversee the process.
INEC reported that over 92 per cent of polling units opened on schedule, while a small number experienced minor delays before voting commenced.
As the exercise progressed, reports from several parts of the state indicated a generally peaceful atmosphere, although isolated incidents were recorded.
Election observers noted concerns ranging from technical glitches involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to allegations of vote buying and a number of security-related incidents.
At Polling Unit 006 in Ikere Local Government Area, some elderly voters expressed frustration over difficulties encountered during voter accreditation.
The PDP candidate, Oluwole Oluyede, also raised concerns over BVAS-related challenges at his polling unit, claiming that many eligible voters were unable to cast their ballots on time.
In contrast, Governor Oyebanji described the conduct of the election as satisfactory.
Speaking after casting his vote in Ikogosi-Ekiti, he dismissed allegations of voter intimidation and harassment.
“Anyone making such allegations must provide evidence to substantiate their claims,” he said.
The governor further urged residents who had yet to vote to participate peacefully in the democratic process.
ADC candidate Dare Bejide also cast his ballot during the election but expressed concern over alleged vote-buying activities in some areas.
Election monitoring group Yiaga Africa reported 24 incidents of violence across 10 local government areas during the exercise, while the police maintained that the overall situation remained under control.
The Commissioner of Police overseeing election security, Abayomi Shogunle, said security agencies had not received any formal report of vote buying during the poll.
He, however, confirmed the arrest of one individual in connection with ballot box snatching.
Following the close of voting at 2:30 p.m., INEC commenced the upload of polling unit results to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
By late evening, more than 97 per cent of polling unit results had been successfully uploaded, paving the way for final collation.
The victory marks another significant political milestone for Oyebanji and the APC in Ekiti State.
With a commanding lead over his closest rivals, the governor secured a renewed mandate from voters to continue leading the state for another term.
The election attracted widespread attention as one of the major off-cycle governorship contests in the country, with political parties, election observers and security agencies closely monitoring developments throughout the day.
With INEC’s declaration, the 2026 Ekiti governorship election has formally concluded, setting the stage for the commencement of another four-year administration under Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
