By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
Governor Biodun Oyebanji has said his overwhelming victory in the June 20, 2026 Ekiti State governorship election was a direct endorsement of his administration’s performance, declaring that the people of the state consciously voted for continuity after witnessing the impact of his policies over the last four years.
The governor, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the outcome of the election demonstrated the confidence Ekiti people have in his leadership and validated the implementation of his administration’s six-pillar development agenda.
Speaking with journalists in Ado-Ekiti shortly after being declared winner of the election, Oyebanji described the poll as “the day of reckoning for critics,” insisting that the electorate had delivered a clear verdict based on performance rather than political propaganda.
According to him, Ekiti people are politically sophisticated and capable of distinguishing between governments that perform and those that do not.
“What happened yesterday is the validation of our performance by the people. The people of Ekiti are politically enlightened. They know what works for them and they know when to change a government that is not working.
“If, in their wisdom, they have decided to re-employ us, it means we are doing something right. We had a contract with the people based on our six pillars of administration that straddle important thematic areas.
“In the last four years, we have diligently pursued the implementation of these programmes and I am sure the people have seen the difference our policies have made in their lives,” he said.
The governor’s remarks came after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner of the election.
The Chief Returning Officer for the election, Professor Adenike Oladiji, announced that Oyebanji secured 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Dr. Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 40,543 votes. The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ambassador Dare Bejide, came third with 12,872 votes.
Reflecting on the scale of the victory, Oyebanji said the result represented a significant improvement on his performance in the 2022 governorship election when he polled about 187,000 votes.
According to him, the increase of more than 100,000 votes is a clear indication that more residents have embraced his administration’s programmes and policies.
“Based on that, they have renewed our mandate. They are enlightened enough to know what works for them and they have made a very clear choice that we have a system that is working.
“In 2022, I won with about 187,000 votes. Yesterday’s result was over 300,000 votes. That is an increase of more than 100,000 votes and it says something about the confidence the people have in our administration,” he stated.
The governor also highlighted the dominance of the APC across the state, arguing that the breadth of the victory underscored the level of acceptance enjoyed by his administration.
“I challenge all of you to tell me an electoral contest in this country that produced a winner who won in virtually all the wards in a state.
“We have 2,445 polling units cumulatively and our opponents did not win up to 10 units. That speaks to something and we must begin to appreciate what is good when we see it,” he said.
Oyebanji dismissed suggestions that voter apathy affected the election, insisting that eligible voters turned out to participate after extensive campaigns by political parties across the state.
“I don’t understand the definition of voter apathy in this context. People came out to vote. We campaigned across the state. Short of dragging people from their homes to vote, we did our part,” he added.
The governor also linked his administration’s achievements to the economic reforms initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the increased resources available to sub-national governments had enabled states to implement impactful development projects.
“What happened is not only a validation of our performance in Ekiti. It is also a vote of confidence in the President because the reforms he has introduced have provided resources to the sub-national governments.
“Without those reforms that freed resources to states, there is no way we would have been able to do many of the things we have done for our people,” he said.
Oyebanji further described the election as unique in the political history of Ekiti State, noting that all former governors rallied behind his candidature, a development he said reflected broad-based support for his administration.
According to him, the election campaign was also one of the most peaceful in the state’s history.
“In the history of this state, this is the first time that all former governors lined up behind a party and a candidate. It has never happened before.
“This is the first time we ran an election campaign for more than three months without any inkling of violence,” he said.
Taking a swipe at his critics, the governor maintained that the election outcome had exposed what he described as false narratives propagated against his administration.
“There is a saying that a farmer who has diligently tilled the ground has nothing to fear on the day of harvest.
“Those who have not done anything spend their time on social media spreading falsehoods. Yesterday was the day of reckoning and the people have spoken clearly,” he declared.
With the victory, Oyebanji has become the first governor in the history of Ekiti State to secure back-to-back re-election victories, earning a fresh mandate to continue the implementation of his administration’s programmes for another four years.
