INEC Declares APC Candidate Oyebanji Winner of Ekiti Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, as the winner of the Ekiti governorship election.

Oyebanji fought off challenges from 15 other candidates to emerge victorious in a landslide fashion.

He will be the next governor of Ekiti state after Fayemi.

In the election conducted on Saturday, June 18, 2022, the APC candidate polled a total of 187,057 votes to defeat his closest challenger and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Segun Oni.

Oni, a former governor of the state scored 82,211 votes while Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) finished third with 67,457 votes to his name.

The APC candidate won in all but one out of the 16 local government areas in the state.

Announcing the result in the early hours of Sunday, June 19, 2022, the INEC Chief returning officer, Prof. Kayode Oyebode Adebowale, said that the total number of accredited voters was 363,438 with 360,753 votes cast.

Adebowale added that a total of 351,835 valid votes were recorded while 8,888 votes were nullified.

“That Abiodun Abayomi of APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared winner and is returned elected,” said the returning officer.

According to the INEC, 16 candidates and parties entered the contest to jostle for 988,923 registered voters spread across 2,445 Polling Units (PUs) in 177 Registration Areas of the state.

Oyebanji is the immediate past Secretary to the Ekiti state government.