Biodun Oyebanji wins Ekiti governorship election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress winner of the 2022 Ekiti governorship election.

The Returning Officer for the election, Prof Kayode Adebowale, who is the Vice Chancellor, the University of Ibadan, announced the results.

Adebowale said, “Oyebanji, having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner and returned elected as the governor-elect of Ekiti State”

The APC scored 187,057 votes to defeat its closest rival, the SDP, which garnered 82,211 votes, the PDP, which got 67,457 votes and 13 other parties which participated in Saturday’s governorship election.

Out of the 360,753 votes cast, the total valid votes in the election were 351,865.

While the agent of SDP, Owoseeni Ajayi, did not sign the forms for the votes cast, the agent of the ADP, said, “Instead of having polling centres, what we have in Ekiti are vote-buying centres”.

ON VOTE BUYING

According to INEC, 988,923 registered voters were expected to participate in the exercise.

However, only 363,438 voters were accredited.

The polls officially opened at around 8:30am (WAT) on Saturday and was expected to close at 2:30 pm (WAT).

Some voters who stormed polling units to exercise their franchise vowed not to sell their votes.

“Ekiti is a state of professors . . . we are not illiterates,” one electorate said.

But reports of massive vote buying soon surfaced, prompting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to embark on a raid and make some arrests.

Some voters were also sighted scrambling for money during the election.

“I’ve received reports of vote buying in Ado and Oye,” Oni, the SDP candidate, said.