As Ekiti State voters head to the polls on Saturday to elect a governor for another four-year term, 13 candidates will be seeking to unseat the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is aiming to secure a second term in office.
The election, one of Nigeria’s off-cycle governorship contests, comes amid impressive voter readiness, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reporting that 1,028,929 of the state’s 1,059,360 registered voters have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), representing 97.1 per cent of eligible voters.
Oyebanji, 59, who won the 2022 governorship election with 187,057 votes, is seeking re-election alongside his deputy, Monisade Afuye. The APC candidate emerged through a consensus arrangement after his sole challenger in the party primary, Atinuke Omolayo, stepped down and endorsed him.
His major challengers include 59-year-old Oluwole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a medical practitioner and businessman; 66-year-old Oluwadare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a former Nigerian ambassador to Canada; and 41-year-old Opeyemi Falegan of the Accord Party, a businessman and philanthropist.
Also in the race are 67-year-old Professor Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party (LP), a former Chief Medical Director of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital; 35-year-old Blessing Abegunde of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP); 36-year-old Bidemi Awogbemi of the Action Peoples Party (APP); 42-year-old Ayodeji Ojo of the Action Democratic Party (ADP); 36-year-old Samuel Akande of the African Action Congress (AAC); and 49-year-old Olaniyi Ayodele of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
The list of contestants is completed by 38-year-old Victor Adetunji of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), 64-year-old Olu Omotoso of the Action Alliance (AA), 65-year-old Joseph Anifowose of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Ayodele Osinkolu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), whose age was not indicated in the information released by INEC.
Although Anifowose and Osinkolu remain on INEC’s final list, both candidates have publicly withdrawn from the race. Anifowose has endorsed Governor Oyebanji, while Osinkolu defected to the PDP after withdrawing from the contest.
The election is expected to test the popularity of the incumbent governor, who is seeking to break a long-standing political pattern in Ekiti where governors have historically struggled to secure consecutive terms in office.
Candidates have campaigned on diverse issues ranging from economic development, healthcare and education reforms to youth empowerment, agriculture, job creation, governance reforms and infrastructural development.
With voter turnout expected to play a crucial role in determining the outcome, attention will be on whether the high PVC collection rate translates into significant participation on election day.