Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been re-elected as governor of Ekiti State after securing a decisive victory in Saturday’s governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Oyebanji winner after he polled 319,224 votes, defeating his closest challengers, Olumayokun Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The results, announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, showed that the incumbent governor won in all 16 local government areas of the state.

What the electoral body is saying

Prof. Oladiji officially declared Oyebanji re-elected after announcing the final results at the State Collation Centre in Ado-Ekiti.

Other News

  • “Therefore, I, Adenike Oladiji, the Returning Officer for the 2026 Ekiti Governorship Election, hereby declare that Oyebanji Abiodun Abayomi, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is duly elected and returned as Governor of Ekiti State.”
  • PDP candidate Olumayokun Oluyede garnered 40,533 votes.
  • ADC candidate Dare Bejide polled 12,872 votes.

The governor also secured significant victories in Irepodun/Ifelodun (29,278 votes), Ekiti West (28,258 votes), Ikole (26,508 votes), and Ekiti East (26,359 votes).

What you should know

INEC data showed that voter participation remained moderate despite the high-profile nature of the election.

Oyebanji was first sworn in as Governor of Ekiti State on October 16, 2022, after emerging victorious in the 2022 governorship election, marking the commencement of his first term in office.

In August 2025, Oyebanji announced the dissolution of the State Executive Council with immediate effect.