Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured a historic second term in office after winning the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election by a landslide.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Oyebanji winner of the poll after he defeated his closest rivals across all 16 local government areas of the state, becoming the first incumbent governor in Ekiti’s history to win re-election while in office.

Announcing the final results at the state collation centre in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, the Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, said Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes. His closest challenger, Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 40,543 votes, while Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) garnered 12,872 votes.

According to INEC, 988,251 voters were registered for the election, with 384,940 accredited to vote. The commission recorded 375,777 valid votes, 6,332 rejected votes, and a total of 382,109 votes cast.

The election was generally peaceful across the state, although reports of vote-buying, voter suppression and technical glitches involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were reported in some polling units. Elderly voters were said to have been the most affected by the BVAS challenges.

Oyebanji, who was first elected governor on June 18, 2022, and sworn into office in October of the same year, maintained a commanding lead throughout the exercise, reflecting widespread support for his administration across the state. He thus becomes the first incumbent to be consecutively elected in the state’s history.

His resounding victory further consolidates the APC’s dominance in Ekiti and marks a significant political milestone in the state’s electoral history.