Ekiti State residents go to the polls on Saturday, June 20, 2026, to elect a new governor in an off-cycle election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The election holds across all 16 local government areas of the state, with 1.02 million registered voters spread across 2,445 polling units deciding the outcome.
Fourteen candidates are contesting the governorship seat, with the incumbent, Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking a second and consecutive term — a feat no Ekiti governor has previously achieved.
Oyebanji, who won the 2022 governorship election with 187,057 votes, enters Saturday’s poll as the frontrunner. His party currently controls all nine National Assembly seats representing the state, all 26 seats in the State House of Assembly, all 16 local government councils, and the 22 Local Council Development Areas. However, internal party friction from the primaries — during which several incumbent lawmakers lost their tickets — remains a factor.
His two principal challengers are the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Babajide, a former Secretary to the State Government and ex-Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer, Dr. Wole Oluyede.
Babajide enters the race with notable opposition backing, including former Deputy Governor Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, former Commissioner for Information Akin Omole, and businessman Funsho Ayeni.
Oluyede, who hails from Ikere-Ekiti in the Ekiti South Senatorial District, is banking on regional sentiment — no governor has ever emerged from Ekiti South since the state’s creation, and his hometown is among the largest voting blocs in the state.
Other candidates on the ballot are: Akande Oluwasegun Samuel (AAC), Opeyemi Falegan (Accord), Ayodeji Ojo (ADP), Bidemi Olaiya Awogbemi (APP), Oyebanji Ikusayedegbe Olajuyin (Labour Party), Abegunde Ayobami Blessing (NNPP), Olaniyi Olanrewaju Ayodele (PRP), Owoola Daramola (YPP), Olu Omotoso (AA), and Victor Damilola Adetunji (ZLP).
Meanwhile, Joseph Anifowose of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has withdrawn from the race and thrown his support behind Governor Oyebanji, citing the incumbent’s record on infrastructure and social services.
READ ALSO:
- Governor Dauda Lawal Signs Peace Accord Ahead of 2027 Elections, Reaffirms Commitment to Peaceful Poll
- Gunmen kill NSCDC officer, abduct businessman in Plateau community
- NYSC abduction: Court remands five suspects in DSS custody
- Lekki shooting: Atiku asks APC, six years on, “Who gave the order?”
- Maysol of Lagos Set to Host Agiliti Inter-Street Football Competition 2.0
