The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election after securing a commanding lead across the state.
The result was officially announced in the early hours of Sunday by the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who said Oyebanji polled a total of 319,224 votes to secure re-election.
According to the results released at the State Collation Centre, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwole Oluyede, came second with 40,543 votes, while Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Party (ADP) recorded 12,872 votes.
Professor Oladiji, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, disclosed that 384,940 voters were accredited for the exercise. She added that the election recorded 375,777 valid votes and 6,332 rejected votes.
Voting commenced at about 8:31 a.m. on Saturday and officially ended at 2:30 p.m., with turnout figures showing that more than 300,000 voters participated in the election.
Results from the 16 local government areas showed Oyebanji maintaining a dominant lead across the state.
In Ado Local Government, the APC candidate secured 38,026 votes, while the PDP received 3,817 votes and the ADP scored 1,054 votes.
Oyebanji also posted strong numbers in Ekiti West, polling 28,258 votes, and in Irepodun/Ifelodun, where he secured 29,278 votes.
Other notable victories for the APC came from Ikole (26,508 votes), Ekiti East (26,359 votes), Ijero (25,506 votes), Oye (18,975 votes), Moba (20,500 votes), and Ido/Osi (17,901 votes).
The election outcome confirms Oyebanji’s continued political dominance in Ekiti State and gives him another mandate to lead the state.
Meanwhile, attention is expected to shift to reactions from opposition parties and the governor’s next policy direction following his re-election victory.