Governor Biodun Oyebanji has secured a resounding second term in office after winning Saturday’s Ekiti State governorship election by a massive margin, cementing the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Oyebanji winner of the poll after he polled 319,224 votes, defeating his closest challengers, Olumayokun Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 40,533 votes, and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who garnered 12,872 votes.
The result underscored the APC’s overwhelming strength in the state, with Oyebanji winning all 16 local government areas and recording commanding margins in key voting centres, including Ado, Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ekiti West, Ikole and Ijero.
Announcing the outcome at the state collation centre in Ado-Ekiti in the early hours of Sunday, Returning Officer, Adenike Oladiji, said the governor had satisfied all constitutional requirements and was therefore duly returned elected.
“Having satisfied the requirements of the law, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji is hereby declared the winner and stands re-elected,” she announced.
One of the election’s most striking outcomes came from Efon Local Government Area, where PDP candidate Oluyede suffered defeat in his own home council. While the APC polled 8,742 votes in the area, the PDP managed 2,051 votes, highlighting the scale of Oyebanji’s statewide acceptance.
INEC disclosed that out of 988,251 registered voters, 384,940 were accredited for the election. A total of 382,109 votes were cast, with 375,777 declared valid.
The APC recorded particularly impressive performances in Ado Local Government, where it secured 38,026 votes, and in Irepodun/Ifelodun, where it garnered 29,278 votes. Other strongholds included Ekiti West with 28,258 votes and Ikole with 26,508 votes.
The outcome is expected to reinforce Oyebanji’s political standing ahead of another four-year term, while posing fresh questions for opposition parties seeking to regain relevance in a state that has increasingly tilted toward the ruling APC.
Political observers say the scale of the victory reflects both the governor’s grassroots appeal and the APC’s entrenched political structure across Ekiti, making the election one of the most decisive governorship contests in the state’s recent history.