Governor Biodun Oyebanji has secured a second term in office after winning all 16 local government areas in Ekiti State, according to official results from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate polled 319,224 votes, significantly outperforming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which secured 40,543 votes and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) which recorded 12,872 votes.
From the capital, Ado Ekiti, to rural councils such as Moba and Ekiti East, Mr. Oyebanji maintained commanding leads, leaving the opposition without a single local government victory.
The APC’s strongest performance occurred in Ado Ekiti, where the governor secured 38,026 votes, nearly ten times the 3,817 votes polled by the PDP.
Other significant vote centers included Irepodun/Ifelodun (29,278), Ekiti West (28,258), Ikole (26,508), and Ekiti East (26,359). Combined, these five councils delivered nearly half of the governor’s total statewide tally.
While the APC dominated, the Ikere local government area—the home base of PDP candidate Wole Oluyede—presented the closest contest of the election.
The margin of just 1,224 votes was the narrowest gap between the leading parties, yet the governor still emerged victorious.
Three main factors defined the results.
First, Mr. Oyebanji won every local government area, denying the opposition a geographical stronghold.
Second, the APC secured overwhelming margins in the largest voting centers, specifically Ado Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun, and Ekiti West.
Third, the opposition votes were thinly spread; the PDP crossed the 3,000-vote mark in only a few councils.
With victories across all 16 councils and a lead of more than 278,000 votes over his closest rival, analysts suggest the re-election was not a competitive race.
Although INEC reported the election was peacefully conducted, observers noted inconsistencies in some electoral materials and reported incidents of vote-buying in parts of the state.
Voting began at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday across 2,445 polling units. Results were collated across 177 wards before final collation in the 16 local government areas.
While Ekiti has 1,059,360 registered voters, only 1,028,929 individuals who collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were eligible to participate in an election contested by 14 political parties. Ultimately, less than half of the eligible voters cast their ballots.
