Governor Biodun Oyebanji has been re-elected for a second term after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner of the Ekiti State governorship election, following a commanding victory across all 16 local government areas of the State.
The incumbent Governor, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Oluwole Oluyede, who secured 40,543 votes.
The result was announced by the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Adenike Oladiji, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, after INEC concluded the collation of results from all 2,445 polling units across the State and uploaded them to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Oyebanji, whose first term expires in October, recorded a landslide victory in the off-cycle governorship election, which featured 14 candidates.
Other contestants included Oluwadare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party (LP), Blessing Abegunde of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Samuel Akande of the African Action Congress (AAC), Ayodeji Ojo of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Opeyemi Falegan of the Accord Party, Joseph Anifowose of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Bidemi Awogbemi of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Olaniyi Ayodele of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Victor Adetunji of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Following the election, Governor Oyebanji and his predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, commended the peaceful conduct of the exercise and the turnout of voters.
After casting his ballot at Ward 006, Unit 003, Oyebanji’s Compound, Okelele Area of Ikogosi-Ekiti, the Governor described the turnout as a reflection of the people’s commitment to democracy and good governance.
While acknowledging reports of minor hitches in some polling units, he expressed confidence that they would not disenfranchise voters.
“There may be glitches in any process, but I am satisfied with the assurances I have received that such issues will be addressed. I appeal to our people to remain patient with INEC and allow the process to be completed,” he said.
Oyebanji also praised INEC and security agencies for ensuring a peaceful election, noting that reports from across the State indicated impressive voter participation.
Former Governor Fayemi, who voted at Ward 11, Unit 9, Ogilolo, Isan-Ekiti, described the accreditation and voting process as smooth and seamless.
“It was a smooth experience. Everything went reasonably well. The accreditation process was fast and seamless,” Fayemi said, adding that INEC officials performed efficiently despite a security incident reported in the community the previous night, which he clarified was unrelated to the election.
Election observers also applauded the generally peaceful conduct of the poll but raised concerns over incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation and other electoral offences.
The EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub, made up of the Kukah Centre, Yiaga Africa, TAF Africa, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, International Press Centre and the Centre for Media and Society, alongside Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), said voting commenced early in most polling units and election officials performed better than in previous exercises.
However, the observation groups disclosed that they documented 24 electoral offences across nine local government areas, with vote-buying and voter intimidation particularly prevalent in Irepodun/Ifelodun and Ado-Ekiti local government areas. They warned that such practices could erode public confidence in future elections if left unchecked.
KDI’s Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, said the election was largely orderly but identified recurring operational challenges, including logistics, delayed arrival of election officials, late commencement of voting and shortcomings in election technology.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Fayose, younger brother of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, called for the cancellation of the governorship election results in Afao-Ekiti, alleging widespread irregularities and deliberate invalidation of votes cast for the ADC.
Speaking at the Iketun-Agba Ibera polling unit, the ADC House of Representatives candidate alleged that APC supporters deliberately voided ballots cast for opposition parties.
The PDP governorship candidate, Oluwole Oluyede, also complained about the conduct of the election in Ugele/Arokun Ward in Ikere Local Government Area, alleging BVAS glitches, voter harassment and intimidation that prevented many voters from casting their ballots.
Similarly, Accord Party governorship candidate, Opeyemi Falegan, accused some individuals of engaging in vote-buying, claiming that voters were allegedly offered as much as ₦20,000 in exchange for support for a candidate. He also cited BVAS failures and other operational lapses, describing the process as falling short of democratic standards.
Yiaga Africa also raised concerns over inconsistencies in election materials, alleging discrepancies between the ballot papers, Form EC8A result sheets and INEC’s published list of candidates.
In a statement signed by Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, Chair of the 2026 Ekiti Election Observation Mission, and Yiaga Africa Executive Director, Samson Itodo, the organisation noted that while the ballot papers contained 19 political parties, the Form EC8A polling unit result sheets provided spaces for only 15 parties, despite INEC’s final list showing 14 candidates as of June 18, 2026.
Yiaga said the inconsistencies raised concerns about the deployment of election materials, although it acknowledged that changes to the final list of candidates followed court rulings and late administrative adjustments before the election.
