Isaac Samuel
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the Ekiti State governorship election, securing him a second term in office after a sweeping victory across the state’s 16 local government areas.
The declaration was made on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti by the State Collation Officer following the conclusion of collation of results from all local government areas.
According to the final results announced by the commission, Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 40,543 votes.
The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Oluwadare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
INEC said the APC candidate won in all 16 local government areas, recording a clean sweep in what has been described as one of the most decisive governorship victories in the state’s recent political history.
The commission disclosed that 384,940 voters were accredited for the election out of 988,251 registered voters across the state. A total of 382,109 votes were cast, while 6,332 ballots were rejected.
Declaring the result, the State Collation Officer said Oyebanji, having satisfied the constitutional requirements and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, was duly returned elected as governor of Ekiti State.
A breakdown of the results showed that the governor posted commanding victories in both urban and rural areas of the state. In Ado-Ekiti, the state capital and largest voting bloc, he secured 38,026 votes, far ahead of his closest rivals.
Other major strongholds for the APC candidate included Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ekiti West, Ikole and Ekiti East local government areas, where he recorded substantial margins that contributed significantly to his statewide tally.
Even in Ikere Local Government Area, considered one of the most competitive battlegrounds during the election, Oyebanji emerged victorious, denying the opposition any foothold in the state.
The election was contested by 14 political parties. Besides the APC, PDP and ADC, other parties that participated recorded relatively low votes.
