Ekiti 2026: How Oyebanji Broke the Incumbency Jinx.

By Mbaegbusi Desmond 

Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has done what no Ekiti governor has done since 1999 — win re-election. INEC declared the APC candidate winner of Saturday’s governorship poll, taking all 16 local government areas in a landslide that cements APC’s grip on the Southwest.

1. The Final Numbers: Clean Sweep*

Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes. His closest rival, Wole Oluyede of the PDP, scored 40,543 votes. ADC’s Dare Bejide managed 12,872. The margin of victory — 278,681 votes — is the widest in Ekiti’s electoral history.

INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Ayobami Salami, announced Oyebanji “having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared winner and returned elected” at 2:45am Sunday. Total valid votes: 376,540. Turnout was 43.2%.

President Bola Tinubu congratulated Oyebanji, calling the result “an endorsement of the APC’s progressive agenda and a rejection of politics of division.

 How Oyebanji Broke the Jinx.

Since 1999, no elected governor in Ekiti has secured a second consecutive term. Ayo Fayose won in 2003 and 2014 but was impeached in 2006. Segun Oni won in 2007 but was removed by court in 2010. Kayode Fayemi won in 2010 and 2018 but lost his re-election bid in 2014.

Oyebanji broke that cycle by doing three things:

A. Local Consensus: As former SSG under Fayemi, Oyebanji was seen as a “homeboy” who understood Ekiti’s 16 LGAs. He ran a grassroots campaign, visiting all 177 wards twice. PDP’s Oluyede, a US-based physician, was labeled an “Abuja politician” by APC surrogates.

B. Project Visibility: In 3.5 years, Oyebanji commissioned the Ado-Ekiti ring road, Ekiti Agro-Allied Cargo Airport, and the 5MW Independent Power Project. The airport alone created 1,200 direct jobs. Civil servants got minimum wage arrears paid — a sore point that sank Fayemi in 2014.

C. Opposition Collapse: PDP in Ekiti has been factionalized since Fayose’s exit. Former Gov. Segun Oni’s SDP structure collapsed into APC in 2023. ADC’s Bejide never recovered from being tagged “third force without a base.” The result: APC’s vote went up 22% from 2022, while PDP’s dropped 61%.

3. What This Means for 2027

Ekiti is Tinubu’s home zone. A clean sweep reinforces APC’s Southwest dominance ahead of the 2027 general elections. APC now controls all 6 Southwest states — Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti.

PDP’s loss raises fresh questions about its national viability. If it can’t win 15% in Ekiti, its path to 270 electoral votes in 2027 looks steep.

Oluyede has rejected the result, citing “widespread vote buying” but promised to “consult leaders before heading to tribunal.” ADC’s Bejide conceded and congratulated Oyebanji.

Oyebanji will be sworn in October 16, 2026. In his acceptance speech, he promised to “complete the Ekiti Knowledge Zone” and make the state “Nigeria’s agriculture tech capital.”

He also extended an olive branch: “Ekiti is bigger than any party. I will run an inclusive government.

For 27 years, Ekiti voters punished incumbents. Oyebanji changed that by campaigning like an opposition candidate — hungry, local, and visible. The jinx is broken. The question now: Can he translate a historic mandate into historic development?