Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the Ekiti State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), earning a second term in office.
The announcement was made in the early hours of Sunday at INEC’s headquarters in Ado-Ekiti by the election’s Returning Officer, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure.
Announcing the outcome, Oladiji stated, “Therefore, I, Adenike, am the returning officer for the 2026 Ekiti governorship election… Oyebanji Abiodun Abayomi, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and stands re-elected.”
Official figures released by INEC showed that Oyebanji secured a landslide victory with 319,224 votes, far ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Olumayokun Oluyede, who polled 40,533 votes. Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came third with 12,872 votes.
The commission also disclosed that Ekiti State has 988,251 registered voters, of which 384,940 were accredited for the election. A total of 382,109 votes were cast, while 375,777 were deemed valid.
One of the surprises of the election was the result from Ikere Ekiti Local Government Area, the hometown of PDP candidate Oluyede. Despite his roots in the area, he was defeated by Oyebanji, with the APC polling 8,742 votes against the PDP’s 2,051 votes.
The victory cements Oyebanji’s dominance in Ekiti politics as he prepares to serve another term as governor of the state.
