Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress has scripted history, becoming the first governor in the state to secure consecutive re-election since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Oyebanji winner of Saturday’s governorship election after he swept all 16 local government areas of the state, defeating 13 other candidates to retain his seat.
INEC figures showed Oyebanji polling 319,224 votes — a commanding margin over his closest challenger, Oluwole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party, who managed 40,533 votes. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Dare Bejide, placed third with 2,872 votes.
The scale of the victory underscores a remarkable political feat in a state long associated with volatile electoral outcomes and revolving-door leadership.
While former Governor Kayode Fayemi also served two terms, his second mandate in 2018 came after a period out of office — making Oyebanji’s straight re-election an entirely different and unprecedented achievement in Ekiti’s political history.
The ballot featured candidates from 14 parties in total, including the Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Accord Party, Action Democratic Party, Action Alliance, Allied Peoples Movement, African Action Congress, Peoples Redemption Party, Young Progressives Party, Zenith Labour Party, and Action Peoples Party — none of whom mounted a serious challenge to the incumbent.
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