The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Announcing the final result in the early hours of Sunday, the Returning Officer, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, stated that Oyebanji secured 319,224 votes to emerge victorious.
His closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Oluwole Oluyede, polled 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, recorded 12,872 votes.
INEC disclosed that 384,940 voters were accredited for the election, with 375,777 valid votes counted. The commission also recorded 6,332 rejected votes, bringing the total votes cast to 382,109.
The governorship election was conducted across Ekiti State’s 16 local government areas and was largely peaceful, despite reports of BVAS-related challenges and allegations of irregularities in some locations. INEC said all 2,445 polling units opened for voting, with more than 92 percent commencing operations before 8:30 a.m.
Following the exercise, PDP candidate Oluyede raised concerns over BVAS challenges and alleged incidents of voter intimidation in parts of Ikere Local Government Area. ADC candidate Bejide also expressed concerns over the conduct of the election.
Responding to the allegations, Governor Oyebanji maintained that any claims of irregularities should be supported with evidence and described the election process as satisfactory while commending voters for their participation.
The Commissioner of Police overseeing election security, CP Abayomi Shogunle, stated that no case of vote-buying was officially reported. He added that although isolated disagreements and delays occurred in a few polling units, security personnel restored calm and ensured order during the process.
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