The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, announced the final results in the early hours of Sunday at the INEC headquarters in Ado-Ekiti.
Ejes Gist News reports that Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest rivals.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, came a distant second with 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, finished third with 12,872 votes.
Also Read : History Made: Oborevwori Hails Oyebanji As Ekiti Governor Breaks One-Term Jinx
A total of 384,940 voters were accredited for the election out of 988,251 registered voters statewide. The poll recorded 375,777 valid votes and 6,332 rejected votes.
APC Sweeps All 16 Local Government Areas
In a historic outcome, Oyebanji won in all 16 local government areas of the state, marking the first time a sitting governor in Ekiti has successfully won a consecutive second term since 1999.
Below are the full results as collated from all 16 LGAs:
Efon LGA
APC: 8,742
PDP: 2,051
ADC: 201
Ijero LGA
APC: 25,506
PDP: 2,479
ADC: 2,026
Ikere LGA (PDP candidate’s home LGA)
APC: 11,116
PDP: 9,872
ADC: 245
Emure LGA
APC: 14,325
PDP: 851
ADC: 732
Ekiti South West LGA
APC: 14,705
PDP: 1,800
ADC: 1,076
Ido/Osi LGA
APC: 17,901
PDP: 1,449
ADC: 561
Ekiti West LGA
APC: 28,258
PDP: 3,644
ADC: 674
Ado LGA
APC: 38,026
PDP: 3,817
ADC: 1,054
Ilejemeje LGA
APC: 8,984
PDP: 1,243
ADC: 579
Ise/Orun LGA
APC: 12,907
PDP: 1,627
ADC: 365
Oye LGA
APC: 18,975
PDP: 2,891
ADC: 998
Moba LGA
APC: 20,500
PDP: 1,572
ADC: 994
Ayekire/Gbonyin LGA
APC: 17,133
PDP: 1,563
ADC: 314
Ikole LGA
APC: 26,508
PDP: 750
ADC: 812
Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA
APC: 29,278
PDP: 2,119
ADC: 511
Ekiti East LGA
APC: 26,359
PDP: 2,795
ADC: 1,730
Analysis: Five LGAs Delivered 47% of Oyebanji’s Votes
According to analysis of the results, five local government areas accounted for 47 per cent of the total votes Oyebanji received.
Ado LGA delivered the biggest haul with 38,026 votes, followed by Irepodun/Ifelodun (29,278), Ekiti West (28,258), Ikole (26,508), and Ekiti East (26,359).
The closest contest was in Ikere LGA, the hometown of PDP candidate Wole Oluyede, where Oyebanji won by just 1,224 votes – the narrowest margin of the entire election.
Historic Victory for Oyebanji
With his re-election, Governor Oyebanji has made history as the first governor in Ekiti State to win two consecutive terms since the state’s creation in 1996 and the return of democratic rule in 1999.
The APC’s dominance in the state has been further consolidated, with the party controlling all nine National Assembly seats, all 26 seats in the State House of Assembly, and all 16 local government councils.
