By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the Ekiti State governorship election held on Saturday, securing another four-year term in office after a landslide victory across the state’s 16 local government areas.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the result in the early hours of Sunday at its headquarters on Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
Declaring the outcome, the Returning Officer for the election and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, said Governor Oyebanji met all constitutional requirements and was therefore returned elected.
“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,” she announced.
According to the final figures released by INEC, the APC candidate polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challengers, Olumayokun Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 40,533 votes, and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who secured 12,872 votes.
INEC disclosed that out of the 988,251 registered voters in the state, 384,940 voters were accredited for the election. A total of 382,109 votes were cast, while 375,777 were declared valid.
One of the major highlights of the election was the defeat suffered by the PDP candidate in his home local government area of Efon. Despite hailing from Efon-Alaaye in Efon Local Government Area, Oluyede polled 2,051 votes, trailing Governor Oyebanji, who secured 8,742 votes in the council area, while the ADC obtained 201 votes.
Results collated from the 16 local government areas showed that the APC dominated the poll across the state.
In Ijero Local Government, the APC scored 25,506 votes, while the PDP and ADC recorded 2,479 and 2,026 votes respectively. In Ikere Local Government, Oyebanji polled 11,116 votes against the PDP’s 9,872 votes and ADC’s 245 votes.
The APC also won Emure Local Government with 14,325 votes, while the PDP and ADC secured 851 and 732 votes respectively. In Ekiti South-West, the ruling party scored 14,705 votes, with the PDP obtaining 1,800 votes and the ADC 1,076 votes.
In Ido/Osi Local Government, the APC garnered 17,901 votes, while the PDP and ADC recorded 1,449 and 561 votes respectively. Ekiti West delivered 28,258 votes for the ruling party, compared with 3,644 votes for the PDP and 674 votes for the ADC.
In Ado Local Government, the APC polled 38,026 votes, while the PDP secured 3,817 votes and the ADC 1,054 votes. Ilejemeje Local Government gave the APC 8,984 votes, with the PDP and ADC polling 1,243 and 579 votes respectively.
Further results showed that the APC scored 12,907 votes in Ise/Orun, while the PDP and ADC obtained 1,627 and 365 votes respectively. In Oye Local Government, the APC garnered 18,975 votes, ahead of the PDP’s 2,891 votes and ADC’s 998 votes.
Moba Local Government delivered 20,500 votes for the APC, while the PDP secured 1,572 votes and the ADC polled 994 votes. In Ayekire/Gbonyin Local Government, the ruling party recorded 17,133 votes, with the PDP scoring 1,563 votes and the ADC 314 votes.
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Ikole Local Government returned 26,508 votes for Governor Oyebanji, while the PDP and ADC recorded 750 and 812 votes respectively. In Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, the APC secured 29,278 votes, ahead of the PDP’s 2,119 votes and the ADC’s 511 votes.
Ekiti East Local Government also voted overwhelmingly for the APC, which polled 26,359 votes, while results for the opposition parties were still being collated at the time the figures were released.
The Merit Newspaper acknowledges that the outcome of the election reaffirmed the dominance of the APC in Ekiti State, with Governor Oyebanji emerging victorious in all the local government areas announced by the electoral umpire.
