INEC DECLARES OYEBANJI WINNER OF EKITI GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION

June 21, 2026 • Dons Eze • 1 min read

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Announcing the result on Sunday, the State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, said Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to defeat his closest rival, Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 40,543 votes.

The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ambassador Dare Bejide, came third with 12,872 votes, while Accord Party candidate, Opeyemi Falegan, placed fourth with 564 votes.

Declaring the result, Oladiji said: “I, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026.

“That Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”

INEC said a total of 988,252 voters were registered for the election, while 384,940 voters were accredited. The commission recorded 375,777 valid votes, 6,332 rejected votes and 382,109 total votes cast.

Other parties scored as follows: Accord – 564 votes; AA – 126; AAC – 195; ADP – 1,269; APP – 61; APM – 55; LP – 276; NNPP – 35; PRP – 163; SDP – 179; YPP – 98; and ZLP – 113 votes.

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.