Ekiti Decides: Oyebanji re-elected Governor by wide margin

Adenike Oladiji, the returning officer,
announced the final result at the collation centre in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on Sunday morning.

Oladiji said Oyebanji polled 319,224 votes to defeat Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who garnered 40,543 votes, and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who scored 12,872 votes.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 988,251 voters registered to cast their ballots in the election. However, only 384,940 were accredited to vote.

Total valid votes stood at 375,777.

There were 6,332 rejected votes, with 382,109 total votes cast.

The election was relatively peaceful across the state, with allegations of vote-buying and voter suppression in some polling units dominating the headlines as the vote progressed.

There were also glitches with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), with the elderly most affected.

Oyebanji, 58, was first elected governor on June 18,2022. He took the oath of office in October of the same year.