The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, the incumbent governor Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The returning officer formally returned him elected after concluding the collation of results.
Oyebanji secured victory in all 16 local government areas of the state and polled around 85 percent of the total votes cast, an outcome the APC described as a comprehensive endorsement of the incumbent administration.
According to the totals announced by the returning officer, the APC candidate polled 319,224 votes, finishing well ahead of every other party in the contest.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came a distant second with 40,543 votes, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) followed with 12,872.
The remaining parties trailed far behind. The NNPP recorded 3,535 votes, and the rest of the field, including the ADP, LP, SDP, YPP, PRP and others, each polled fewer than 1,300 votes across the state.
Electoral officials put the number of registered voters for the exercise at 988,251, while the number of accredited voters stood at 384,940. The collation was overseen by the returning officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who took the results from local government electoral officers in the presence of party agents and accredited observers.
Reacting to the result, Oyebanji said the renewed mandate places a greater responsibility on his government to expand developmental achievements and improve the lives of citizens in every household across the state.
The governor stressed that the election produced no losers, describing the outcome as a collective triumph for a united Ekiti committed to sustained growth, prosperity and shared progress, as he prepared to address residents on the conduct of the exercise.