Governor Biodun Oyebanji has secured a second term in office after emerging victorious in all 16 local government areas of Ekiti State, based on results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The All Progressives Congress candidate recorded 319,224 votes, far ahead of his closest challengers, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polling 40,543 votes while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) garnered 12,872 votes.
From the state capital, Ado Ekiti, to other councils including Moba and Ekiti East, Mr Oyebanji maintained a strong lead across the state, leaving opposition parties without control of any local government area.
The governor’s biggest victory margin came from Ado Ekiti, where he received 38,026 votes, almost ten times higher than the PDP’s 3,817 votes.
Other significant contributions to the APC’s total came from Irepodun/Ifelodun with 29,278 votes, Ekiti West with 28,258 votes, Ikole with 26,508 votes and Ekiti East with 26,359 votes.
The combined results from the five councils accounted for a substantial portion of Mr Oyebanji’s overall statewide performance.
Despite the APC’s widespread dominance, Ikere Local Government Area recorded the most competitive contest of the election.
The difference between the two leading parties in Ikere was only 1,224 votes, marking the closest margin recorded anywhere in the state. However, Mr Oyebanji still secured victory in the council.
Three key observations emerged from the final results.
First, Mr Oyebanji’s victory across all local government areas prevented the opposition from establishing any strong base in any part of the state.
Second, the APC recorded overwhelming support in major voting centres, especially in Ado Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun and Ekiti West.
Third, the opposition parties struggled to build significant support statewide, with the PDP exceeding 3,000 votes in only a few councils and coming closest to victory in Ikere.
With wins across all 16 councils and a lead of more than 278,000 votes over his nearest rival, the outcome indicates that the election was largely decided in favour of the incumbent rather than being a closely fought contest.
Although INEC described the election as peaceful, some observers raised concerns over irregularities involving electoral materials, while reports also indicated cases of vote-buying in some areas of the state.
