Despite the array of parties and candidates, only two parties, the PDP and the ADC, have shown the capacity to run against the tide of the election.
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.
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.”
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