Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will make history if he wins Saturday’s off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti State.
No incumbent has won re-election since the state elected Adeniyi Adebayo as its first governor in 1999. Mr Adebayo served a single term.
Governors Ayo Fayose and Kayode Fayemi each served non-consecutive two terms, while Segun Oni did not even complete a term–he left office in 2010 after the courts voided his 2007 election.
Mr Oyebanji is confident, because Saturday’s contest offers a different scenario from past elections, which featured strong opposition, tense campaigns, subtle power play, and grassroots mobilisation by the main actors. This time, the field is dotted by players whose antecedents do not project them as capable of rattling the incumbent.
Political watchers say they are observing a mismatch, not in terms of the quality of the personalities involved, but relative to the political platforms and support bases of the contestants.
Mr Oyebanji, for many residents, seems to be coasting home to victory even before the first ballot is cast, thanks to the weakness of the opposition and the realignments that have seen the state’s major political actors gravitate towards the APC.
On the ballot, 13 candidates are challenging Mr Oyebanji.
The leading opposing candidates are Wole Oluyede, a medical practitioner and businessman flying the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Oluwadare Bejide, a diplomat running on the platform of the African Democratic Congress(ADC).
The others are Olajuyin Oyebanji, Labour Party; Blessing Abegunde, NNPP; Samuel Oluwasegun, AAC; Ojo Ayodeji, ADP; Opeyemi Felegan, Accord; Olanrewaju Anifowose, APM; Olaita Awogbemi, APP; Praise Ayodele, PRP; Ayodele Osinkolu, YPP; and Damilola Adetunji, ZLP.
Despite the array of parties and candidates, only the PDP and the ADC have shown the capacity to put up a fight.
Even so, APC campaign officials perceive the election as a coronation ceremony for Mr Oyebanji.
How they stand
Bidoun Oyebanji (APC)
Mr Oyebanji hails from Ikogosi in Ekiti West Local Government Area.
Before he ran for governorship in 2022, he served as secretary to the state government and chief of staff to the governor.
He defeated former Governor Olusegun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bisi Kolawole of the PDP in the 2022 poll with 187,057 votes.
Mr Oni polled 82, 211 votes, while Mr Kolawole garnered 67, 457.
Opinions regarding Mr Oyebanji’s performance in office are mixed; but the administration, at every opportunity, gives itself a thumb-up.
For instance, it cites massive road construction, completing the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, which began under its predecessor, and over 5,000 youth of the state participating in commercial farming through cluster initiatives, rehabilitation and equipping of several hospitals and health centres, food security, and improvement in the education sector and security.
But the achievement does not impress critics, who warned voting for the governor for a second term would be costly for the state.
However, apart from the incumbency factor and his performance, other factors may help the governor to retain his position.
All of the four former governors of the state, namely Adeniyi Adebayo, Olusegun Oni, Ayo Fayose and Kayode Fayemi, have thrown their support behind Mr Oyebanjo.
In November, Mr Adebayo, the first democratically elected governor of the state, vowed to lead the second term bid of the governor and President Bola Tinubu, for what he described as a commitment to Ekiti’s progress.
He said he was proud of Mr Oyebanji’s exploits in all sectors of the economy, urging the people to massively vote and retain him in power.
Indeed, with Mr Oni, now a prominent member of the APC in Ekiti State, there is a major shift in the ranks of the opposition. He rejoined the party in January, foreclosing any major impediment from the northern senatorial zone. From his home in Ifaki, he supports Governor Oyebanji’s bid for a second term. Mr Oni was the governor between 2007 and 2010 as a member of the PDP.
Mr Fayose, on his part, is a strong supporter of the incumbent governor and has repeatedly said so. Although a PDP chieftain, he has publicly maintained that Mr Oyebanji has performed exceptionally well and delivered tangible development to the state and this is deserving of a return to office on Saturday.
He cited the governor’s humility and his being the first governor to unite all former governors of Ekiti State across party lines to work together for the state’s development as another reason he is lending his support against his party’s candidate.
Mr Fayemi’s support comes naturally. Although there were initial reports of a rift with Mr Oyebanji, Mr Fayemi openly endorsed the governor’s second term bid, saying helping him become his successor was his greatest achievement.
APC supporters are confident that with the triune support of the former governors, no enchantment from the opposition can tilt the current power balance.
Summing up Mr Oyebanji’s chances, the APC spokesperson in the state, Segun Dipe, said, “In 2026, alignment replaces confrontation; the script has flipped. APC now controls the Presidency, Ekiti State Government, and all 16 LGAs.
There is no ‘Abuja vs Ado-Ekiti’ tension. Federal presence means security support for Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s border forum with Kogi, Kwara, and Ondo, plus more road funding and policy alignment.”
He said APC’s 2014 loss to the PDP was a learning curve, adding that whereas the party in 2014 had the right policies, it lacked grassroots communication.
“Trust us, the projects will make sense later. PDP weaponised ‘stomach infrastructure’ in the final 72 hours. Rice, cash, and daily handouts beat long-term plans at the polling unit. Victimhood was turned into protest votes.
“2014 taught APC some lessons that projects without politics would amount to losing elections,” Mr Dipe said, adding that in 2026, Governor Oyebanji has a performance-based incumbency.
Wole Oluyede (PDP)
PDP’s Oluwole Oluyede is leading the opposition in Saturday’s confrontation. A few weeks ago, it was uncertain if the party would field a candidate for the election. The reprieve from the Federal High Court in Abuja and a final pronouncement from the Court of Appeal in Akure reignited the party’s hope as the courts ordered INEC to add his name to the ballot for the election.
The late inclusion of Mr Oluyede’s name on the ballot is seen by many within the party as a major drawback in the prosecution of the election campaigns. But sceptics think the PDP has now lost the capacity to create serious concerns for the ruling APC. Nevertheless, the physician-turned politician and his campaign train had left nothing to chance, traversing the state to canvass votes.
If the crowds at his campaigns are anything to go by, the APC surely has something to be concerned about.
But Mr Dipe, the APC spokesperson in Ekiti, is not worried. “2026 is not 2014, when the PDP, relying on the federal might and the sagacity of Ayo Fayose, overwhelmed the APC to secure the victory.”
Mr Dipe noted that the PDP no longer has the power at the centre, and said the people have since forgotten Mr Fayose’s stomach infrastructure, leaving the party’s umbrella shredded.
“PDP is out of power at the centre and fragmented at the state level, with no incumbent, no federal backing, and no project record to campaign on. Other parties lack structure in all 177 wards,” he said.
The PDP Campaign Organisation responded to that assessment with defiance. Idowu Adelusi, spokesperson for the organisation, said despite the party’s exit from power at the centre, it can repeat what it did in 2003 and 2014 by throwing out the incumbent at the polls.
Mr Adelusi is confident that the crowds that greeted Mr Oluyede’s campaign tours are a sign that history would be repeated on Saturday.
“APC is jittery at the massive turnout of residents for our campaigns and this is a sign that they are tired and they want a change,” Mr Adelusi told PREMIUM TIMES.
“The people are happy for the return of the PDP because they know it is the only party that can bring back the good old days and restore a people-oriented government.”
Mr Oluyede, the elder brother of the Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, hails from Ikere-Ekiti, in the southern senatorial district, though he was raised in Ado-Ekiti and spent most of his formative years in the city, which is a major voting bloc in the state.
He is also not a neophyte, having gained experience from contesting the governorship election in 2018 on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). He is favoured by the proponents of “Ekiti South Agenda.”
The ESA is a prominent socio-political movement in Ekiti State agitating for power rotation and regional development, and ensuring the governorship power goes to the southern part of Ekiti in 2026.
Mr Oluyede’s push for power shift is opposed by the APC lawmakers representing the zone. They said the group should support the incumbent governor for continuity.
David Bamidele, an Ado Ekiti resident and a civil servant, told this newspaper that the renewed vigour within the PDP is the reason there is going to be a semblance of a contest on Saturday.
Like many other Ekiti voters, Mr Bamidele believes that the PDP is suffering from the fractures inflicted on it by its leaders both at the federal and state levels. “A miracle is what the PDP needs to win this election,” he said.
Oluwadare Bejide (ADC)
Oluwadare Bejide is a former secretary to the Ekiti State Government and Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Canada. He is also a legal practitioner from Ilawe-Ekiti in Ekiti South-west Local Government Area.
He had previously run for governor in 2018 on the ticket of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following disputes over the party’s primary process.
He believes that Ekiti State has been poorly managed and needs a change. Alaba Agboola, director general, Bejide’s Campaign Organisation, told PREMIUM TIMES that the people are willing to vote out Mr Oyebanji and the ADC was prepared to take over government and provide competent leadership.
Mr Agboola said if there is no vote buying and other electoral malpractices, the ADC can spring a surprise on Saturday.
However, beyond the campaigns and tours across the local governments, analysts are not sure how the ADC intends to turn the table in the contest. One of the reasons is that both the ADC and the PDP candidates are from the same southern senatorial district, suggesting that they would be splitting the vote of the district against a consolidated vote from the north and central, where the incumbent will be drawing his strength.
The judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, ordering INEC to deregister the party, would have dampened the spirit of the governorship hopeful and those set to vote for him on Saturday, but for the judgement of the Court of Appeal the following day, halting its enforcement.
Opeyemi Falegan (Accord)
After the appellate court voided the deregistration order against his party, Mr Falegan declared in a post on his official Facebook page that he was determined to win the election.
“I will be the first civilian governor from Ado – Ekiti in Ekiti state. Mark my words,” he said.
The former British soldier claims to focus on grassroots support and an economic agenda of youth empowerment.
Although he does not have much on his political resume, he currently sits as the CEO of ODI Foundation, an organization that empowers widows and the less privileged. He was the director and chief executive officer of Nkechi Films Production and NBS Foundation. He reportedly married the actress, Nkechi Blessing, before they parted ways in 2022.
Many Ekiti residents remember him for his philanthropic activities, bringing succour to widows and the aged. His youthful disposition and his carriage of hope have endeared him to many.
Frank Adebowale, a teacher in Ado Ekiti, said that although Mr Falegan is popular among the people in his area, he lacks the political force to rattle the status quo.
Praise Ayodele (PRP)
Praise Ayodele is coming into the contest as a youth mobiliser and a former student leader. His campaign message has largely targeted the youth and students, promising to make learning and education better.
Mr Ayodele studied Food Science and Technology at the Federal Polytechnic Offa, where he served as the president of the Student Union Government (SUG). He is into real estate and is currently the MD/CEO of WITPARK Homes Ltd.
According to him, he built boreholes at hostels and other infrastructure on the school campus, and if he could do all that as a student leader, he would even do greater things when voted in as governor.
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A united opposition front?
Mr Adelusi said the opposition was making efforts to unite their forces for Saturday’s poll. However, it has been observed that the majority of the parties lack structure and their aggregation may not match the strength of the ruling party.