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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
As voters in Ekiti State prepare to go to the polls on Saturday, June 20, for the governorship election, the political atmosphere across the state is charged with anticipation. Campaigns have wound down, alliances have been struck, and the stakes could not be higher. This election carries consequences that stretch beyond the ordinary contest for power. It may well settle a question that has haunted Ekiti politics since the return of democracy in 1999: can any governor win two consecutive terms?
Fifteen political parties were cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to field candidates in the election. They include Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ambassador Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress, Opeyemi Falegan of the Accord Party, Olu Omotoso of the Allied Alliance, Akande Oluwasegun of the African Action Congress, Isaac Alade of the Social Democratic Party, Ayodeji Ojo of the Action Democratic Party, Bidemi Awogbemi of the Allied Peoples Movement, Joseph Anifowose of the Action Peoples Movement, Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party, Blessing Abegunde of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Ayodele Praise of the Peoples Redemption Party, Olusegun Osinkolu of the Young Progressives Party and Victor Adetunji of the Zenith Labour Party.
However, most political analysts regard the race as effectively a three-way contest between the APC, the PDP and the ADC. The other parties have largely faded from serious contention, and several of their candidates have already moved to endorse frontrunners. Candidates and deputy governorship candidates from the ADP, YPP, APP, AA and Accord Party have joined a coalition backing the PDP candidate, Dr Oluyede. Local government chairmen and state executives of the Accord Party have similarly declared for him.
Meanwhile, the candidate of the Action Peoples Movement has stepped down to support Governor Oyebanji of the APC. These movements have further narrowed what was already a competitive field.
No governor in Ekiti’s history has served two uninterrupted terms in office. Since the state was created in 1996 and democratic governance began in 1999, every governor who has sought a second consecutive term has been turned back. Former governors Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose and Kayode Fayemi all experienced this fate. Each served one term, left office, and only returned to the governorship after an interval. None managed back-to-back terms.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji wants to change that. His re-election campaign is built squarely on the ambition to become the first governor in the state’s history to break what his supporters call the succession jinx. It is a bold framing. Rather than merely asking voters to assess his record, he is inviting them to be part of a historic moment. Whether this narrative helps or hinders him may depend on how voters weigh the appeal of history against their lived experience of governance.
Oyebanji: The incumbent’s campaign
Oyebanji enters this election with considerable advantages. As the sitting governor, he enjoys the benefits of incumbency, including access to state resources, an established administrative structure and the visibility that comes with holding office. He also has the backing of the federal government and has managed to assemble a rare coalition of former governors from across party lines. Niyi Adebayo, Ayodele Fayose, Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi, men who spent much of their political careers as rivals, have all endorsed his re-election. That show of unity is perhaps the most striking feature of Oyebanji’s political position and a testament to the unification efforts his campaign has invested in over recent months.
His campaign has focused on continuity and consolidation, pointing to projects and programmes initiated during his first term and arguing that a second term is necessary to see them through to completion. He has also attracted endorsements from a wide range of political and civil society groups.
Yet, his campaign faces real challenges. Critics, including opposition candidates and independent observers, have questioned whether the state’s monthly allocations from the federation account have translated into meaningful improvements in the lives of ordinary people. Infrastructure deficits, economic hardship and concerns about the pace of development have featured prominently in opposition messaging and resonate with a significant portion of the electorate.
Within his own party, the APC has not been without turbulence. The disqualification of two governorship aspirants, Engineer Kayode Ojo and Abimbola Olawunmi, during the primaries caused resentment. Olawunmi, a female aspirant, took the matter to court to challenge Oyebanji’s nomination. More recently, the outcomes of party primaries for the National Assembly and the House of Assembly generated fresh controversy after several serving lawmakers failed to secure return tickets. Although reconciliation efforts have been made, the internal discontent remains a factor that could affect voter turnout among APC supporters.
Oluyede: The persistent challenger
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Dr Wole Oluyede is contesting the Ekiti governorship for the third time. He ran in 2018 on the platform of the APC and again in 2022 on the ADC ticket, on that occasion challenging Oyebanji himself. Now he stands as the PDP candidate, and his campaign has adopted a sharper, more combative tone.
Oluyede is a medical doctor and consultant with over 40 years of professional experience. His campaign has been issues-driven, centring on healthcare accessibility, infrastructure development, quality education, job and wealth creation, human capital development and agricultural intervention. He has promised responsive governance and pro-people policies, and has repeatedly challenged what he describes as the Oyebanji administration’s failure to account adequately for the state’s substantial monthly allocations.
His path to the ballot was not straightforward. A court judgement initially removed his name from the list of candidates, which discouraged many of his supporters. He subsequently won a separate legal battle that confirmed him as the authentic PDP candidate, and spent considerable campaign time reassuring supporters who had been unaware of this outcome.
Beyond his policy positions, Oluyede’s most potent political argument is geographic. He hails from Ikere-Ekiti in the southern senatorial district, a zone that has never produced a governor since 1999. He has made the call for a power shift to the south a central pillar of his campaign, arguing that equity and fairness demand that the governorship rotate to a part of the state that has been overlooked for 27 years.
His challenges are not insignificant. The PDP in Ekiti has suffered internal crises that divided the party, prompted defections and weakened its grassroots structures in some areas. The high-profile support that former two-term PDP governor Ayodele Fayose has given to Oyebanji, rather than to the PDP candidate, has been particularly damaging in symbolic terms. Nevertheless, Oluyede retains a loyal base of party members, and the PDP’s historical presence in the state means it still commands genuine support in several local government areas.
Bejide: The third force
Ambassador Dare Bejide of the ADC brings a distinguished pedigree to the race. A former Secretary to the State Government and former High Commissioner to Canada, he is a credible figure with administrative experience at the highest levels. His campaign draws strength from the same power-shift argument that Oluyede has deployed. He too hails from the southern senatorial district, specifically from Ilawe-Ekiti, and frames his candidacy as a vehicle for the south’s long-deferred aspirations.
The ADC benefited from a wave of defections from both the APC and PDP, as aggrieved members of both parties sought a credible alternative platform.
This gave the party a noticeable boost and a degree of momentum that it might not otherwise have achieved. Bejide’s appeal is to those who want change but remain unconvinced by either Oluyede or Oyebanji.
The southern question
The issue of power rotation is perhaps the most emotionally charged theme in this election. Since 1999, the governorship has passed between the Central and North senatorial districts. The South has supplied deputy governors but never a governor. There is no constitutional requirement for zonal rotation, but the sentiment that the South has been shortchanged runs deep, particularly among voters from that region.
Both Oluyede and Bejide have pressed this grievance with vigour, arguing that whatever one thinks of Oyebanji’s performance, the time has come for a fundamental shift in where power resides. Supporters of the governor dismiss the geographic argument, insisting that performance and capacity, not origin, should determine who leads the state.
As polling day arrives, the outcome of that argument, and the fate of the succession jinx, will soon be known.
