Ekiti State Governor and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Biodun Oyebanji, recorded a decisive victory at the polling unit of the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, during Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Announcing the result at the polling unit, the Presiding Officer, Mrs Elizabeth Oregbemeh, said Oyebanji secured 164 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Dr Wole Oluyede, who polled eight votes.

She added that the candidate of the Action Democratic Party, ADP, Mr Ayodeji Ojo, received one vote.

Earlier, Senator Bamidele expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, describing the turnout of voters across the state as encouraging.

The Senate Leader also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the timely deployment of electoral personnel and voting materials across the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State.

According to figures released by INEC, the state has 1,059,360 registered voters, out of which 1,028,929 collected their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, ahead of the election.

Voters on Saturday chased away operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in Iyin-Ekiti during the ongoing 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.

The EFCC personnel were said to have stormed the polling unit to monitor and crack down on suspected vote-buying activities.

The voters were reportedly angered and resisted their presence and questioned their deployment, demanding their immediate departure.

The voters were said to have chased off the anti-graft operatives, forcing them to leave the scene while allowing the voting process to continue without any further interruption.

The drama unfolded amidst a wave of massive vote-buying allegations rocking the governorship race across different parts of Ekiti State.

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The member representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency II in the House of Representatives, Kolawole David Akinlayo has expressed optimism over the prospects of the ruling party in the ongoing governorship election in Ekiti State, citing massive voter turnout across his constituency and strong support for Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s re-election bid.

Speaking with journalists shortly after casting his vote at Igogo Ward 2, Polling Unit 16 in Ikosun-Ekiti, Moba Local Government Area, Akinlayo said residents had come out in large numbers to vote for the candidate of his party, whom he identified as the incumbent governor seeking a second term in office.

The lawmaker described the turnout across the constituency as massive, attributing the large number of voters at polling units to sustained grassroots mobilisation and intensive campaigns carried out by party leaders ahead of the election.

According to him, the ruling party had embarked on rigorous campaigns across the three local government areas under his constituency to sensitise residents on the importance of participating in the electoral process and supporting the governor’s re-election.

Akinlayo revealed that as part of efforts to mobilise supporters and alleviate economic hardship, he distributed food items to residents across the three local government areas within his constituency on the eve of the election.

“The candidate of our party is the governor of the state. The governor is running for a second term and people are out to vote for him and return him as governor.

“We’ve campaigned rigorously. Yesterday, we advised them to come out as early as possible to vote for our candidate, which I believe they have done and will continue to do because they believe in us and they will cast their votes for the governor”.