Today, fourteen political parties will compete to determine who will serve as Ekiti State’s governor for the next four years.
The 2026 Ekiti State governorship election will hold across the state’s 16 local government areas, where over 1 million registered voters are expected to decide whether Governor Biodun Oyebanji secures a second term or a new leader emerges.
Furthermore, as the 2027 general elections approach, Governor Biodun Oyebanji is expected to face challengers from ten rival political parties across 2,445 polling units, with about 1.02 million registered voters set to cast their ballots.
Seeking a second four-year term, the incumbent governor is anchoring his reelection campaign on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform alongside his running mate, Monisade Afuye.
This bid follows his 2022 gubernatorial victory, where Oyebanji secured the seat by polling 187,057 votes to defeat Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Dare Bejide, the ambassador of the African Democratic Congress and a former Nigerian ambassador to Canada and secretary to the state government, is also vying to be the consensus option to the PDP and APC.
Dr. Wole Oluyede, a PDP candidate from Ikere-Ekiti in the Ekiti South Senatorial District, wants to revitalise a party that has gradually lost ground in the state.
Meanwhile, Joseph Anifowose of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has withdrawn and endorsed Oyebanji, citing the governor’s record on infrastructure and social services.
Massive turnout in Ado Ekiti
Information gathered also reveals that there is massive voter turn out in some polling units in the state capital. At Ward 4, Units 1 and 2, located at Saint Michael Primary School, Ijigbo, many voters, including elderly residents, were already on the ground ahead of the scheduled commencement of voting at 8:30 a.m., reflecting enthusiasm for the electoral exercise.
However, voting had yet to begin as of 8:45 a.m. after the BVAS deployed to the polling units failed to function upon arrival of election officials.
Stay tuned on this thread for updates and live results from the governorship election…
