By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
Ekiti State Governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Biodun Oyebanji, has been declared winner of the 2026 governorship election, securing a resounding victory across the state’s 16 local government areas.
Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest rival, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes.
The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ambassador Dare Bejide, finished a distant third after polling votes across the state.
The Chief Returning Officer for the election and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Professor Adenike Oladiji, announced the final results on Sunday at the State Collation Centre in Ado-Ekiti.
Declaring the result, Oladiji said the APC candidate satisfied all constitutional and electoral requirements and was therefore returned elected as Governor of Ekiti State.
“Having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, Biodun Oyebanji is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” she announced.
According to the electoral umpire, the state had a total of 988,251 registered voters, while 384,949 voters were accredited to participate in the election.
She added that a total of 382,109 votes were cast during the exercise, out of which 6,332 were rejected.
The results showed a sweeping victory for the incumbent governor, who dominated voting across all local government areas of the state.
In Ado Local Government, the state’s most populous council area, Oyebanji secured 38,026 votes against the PDP’s 3,817 votes and ADC’s 1,054 votes.
The APC candidate also recorded impressive victories in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government with 29,278 votes, Ekiti West with 28,258 votes, Ikole with 26,508 votes, and another Ekiti West/Ilejemeje axis result where APC polled 26,359 votes.
Other strong performances came from Ijero Local Government where he scored 25,506 votes, Moba Local Government with 20,500 votes, Oye Local Government with 18,975 votes, Ido/Osi Local Government with 17,901 votes, and Gboyin/Ayekire Local Government where he polled 17,133 votes.
The PDP candidate’s strongest showings came in Ekiti West, Ado, Oye and Ijero local government areas, though the margins were insufficient to challenge the APC’s dominance.
Reacting to the outcome, APC State Collation Agent, Senator Cyril Fasuyi, called on all contestants and political stakeholders to embrace sportsmanship and support the governor in moving the state forward.
“In every contest, there will only be one winner. I think there should be that spirit of sportsmanship among all the contestants.
“Nobody is a loser. We should all come together and support the governor in his developmental drive for the benefit of Ekiti people,” Fasuyi said.
Political observers noted that the outcome further strengthened the APC’s hold on the state, with the party maintaining its dominance across virtually all voting blocs.
The election, which witnessed a relatively high voter turnout compared to previous off-cycle governorship elections, was largely peaceful across the state, despite isolated complaints and allegations by some opposition parties regarding voter inducement and security deployments in certain locations.
With the declaration, Oyebanji has secured a fresh mandate to continue the implementation of his administration’s policies and programmes for another term.
