Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election after securing a commanding victory across the state’s 16 local government areas.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the result in the early hours of Sunday, bringing to an end a keenly contested poll that was largely peaceful but not without complaints over technical glitches and allegations of irregularities.
Declaring the outcome at about 3:13 a.m., the Returning Officer for the election and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Professor Adenike Oladiji, said Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to retain his seat.
His closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Oluwole Oluyede, garnered 40,543 votes, while African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate Dare Bejide secured 12,872 votes.
According to INEC, 384,940 voters were accredited during the exercise. A total of 375,777 valid votes were recorded, while 6,332 votes were rejected, bringing the total number of votes cast to 382,109.
Although voting was generally peaceful, the election witnessed pockets of controversy.
PDP candidate Oluwole Oluyede alleged that several voters in Ugele/Arokun Ward, Ikere Local Government Area, were unable to vote because of issues associated with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). He also accused some individuals of voter harassment and intimidation.
Some elderly voters at Polling Unit 006 in the area similarly complained about delays caused by accreditation problems and urged INEC to address the challenges.
ADC candidate Dare Bejide also raised concerns over alleged irregularities during the election.
However, Governor Oyebanji dismissed the allegations, insisting that anyone making such claims should provide evidence. He described the conduct of the election as satisfactory and urged eligible voters to participate peacefully.
Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP Abayomi Shogunle, said no incident of vote-buying was officially reported to the police during the exercise.
Election observers commended the peaceful atmosphere that characterised the poll.
First Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Sebastian Anyia, described the process as orderly and praised the level of voter turnout across the state.
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Brenda Anugwom, also applauded the commitment displayed by female voters, noting that many women stayed patiently at polling units with their children to ensure they exercised their civic rights.
However, election observer group Yiaga Africa expressed concerns over discrepancies involving ballot papers, result sheets and INEC’s published list of candidates.
In a statement signed by Aisha Abdullahi, Chair of the 2026 Ekiti Election Observation Mission, and Executive Director Samson Itodo, the organisation warned that inconsistencies could create confusion during voting and collation.
Responding to the concerns, INEC explained that 19 political parties were included on the ballot paper to avoid the cost of reprinting materials following court rulings and late changes involving some candidates.
Security agencies had deployed heavily across Ekiti State ahead of the election, with the Nigeria Police Force leading a multi-agency operation to secure polling units and collation centres.
Movement restrictions were enforced during voting hours, while authorities repeatedly warned political actors against violence, vote-buying and other electoral offences.
With the official declaration of results, Oyebanji has secured another four-year term as governor, extending the APC’s hold on Ekiti State after recording an overwhelming victory over his opponents.
