By Oche Otene
Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won all 16 Local Government Areas in Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election, securing re-election for a second term.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the final results at the state collation centre in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure FUTA, declared that Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes.
The election results showed a clear pattern across the state, with the APC dominating every local government area while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) trailed behind.
Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, recorded the highest number of voters. Out of 43,498 valid votes cast, Oyebanji secured 38,026 votes.
The PDP polled 3,817 votes, while the ADC received 1,054 votes. INEC accredited 45,695 voters in the local government area and rejected 1,117 ballots.
Irepodun/Ifelodun delivered the second-highest number of votes for the APC. Oyebanji scored 29,278 votes, while the PDP and ADC secured 2,119 and 511 votes from 32,059 valid votes, INEC cancelled results from one ward because of over-voting.
In Ekiti West, the APC candidate won 28,258 votes. The PDP received 3,644 votes, while the ADC recorded 674 votes. The local government area produced 32,737 valid votes from 33,421 accredited voters.
Ikere Local Government recorded the closest contest of the election. Oyebanji polled 11,116 votes, while the PDP secured 9,892 votes. The ADC received 245 votes from 21,493 valid votes.
In Ikole Local Government, the APC won 26,508 votes, while the ADC and PDP secured 812 and 750 votes respectively from 28,212 valid votes.
Ekiti East gave the APC 26,359 votes, while the PDP and ADC recorded 2,795 and 1,730 votes respectively.
Ijero returned 25,506 votes for the APC, 2,479 votes for the PDP and 2,026 votes for the ADC. Oye Local Government delivered 18,975 votes to the APC, while the PDP and ADC received 2,891 and 998 votes respectively.
Moba Local Government produced 20,500 votes for the APC, 1,360 votes for the PDP and 994 votes for the ADC.
In Ido/Osi, the APC secured 17,901 votes against the PDP’s 1,449 votes and the ADC’s 561 votes. Aiyekire/Gbonyin recorded 17,133 votes for the APC, while the PDP and ADC polled 1,563 and 314 votes respectively.
Ekiti South-West/Ilawe delivered 14,705 votes to the APC, 1,800 votes to the PDP and 1,076 votes to the ADC.
Other local government areas followed a similar pattern. Emure recorded 14,325 votes for the APC, 851 votes for the PDP and 732 votes for the ADC from 16,018 valid votes.
Ise/Orun gave the APC 12,908 votes, while the PDP and ADC secured 1,627 and 365 votes respectively.
Efon returned 8,742 votes for the APC, 2,051 votes for the PDP and 35 votes for the ADP. Ilejemeje recorded 8,984 votes for the APC, while the PDP and ADC secured 1,243 and 579 votes respectively.
Statewide, INEC reported that 988,251 voters registered for the election. However, only 384,940 voters received accreditation. The commission recorded 375,777 valid votes and rejected 6,332 ballots, bringing the total votes cast to 382,109.
The APC’s victory across all 16 local government areas gave Oyebanji a decisive mandate. Ikere recorded the PDP’s strongest performance, while the ADC finished third in most councils.
INEC said it would present Certificates of Return to Governor Oyebanji and his deputy in the coming days.
