The All Progressives Congress, APC, has retained Ekiti State having defeated other 15 contenders to win the governorship election conducted on Saturday, having scored more than 50% coves cast in 15 out of the 16 local governments of the State.

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, candidate backed by former Governor Ayodele Fayose, Bisi Kolawole, came distance third in the election with 67, 457 votes, while former Governor Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, being the first runner up, scored a total of 82, 211 votes.

The development suggested that the former Governor and the candidate of the Party in the election were abandoned as there was no open campaign for the party by the National leadership of the party.

HorizonTimes observed that the 2023 flag bearer of the Party, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was also not in the State to campaign for the candidate and the party.

As usual in campaign processes, the PDP, did not organise a grand finale for its candidate apart from some personal efforts led by Fayose in the State.

No Governor of the PDP campaigned nor any chieftain of rhe Party campaigned openly for Kolawole and the Party throughout the campaign period.

Some of the chieftains of the Party, like Senator Biodun Olujimi lost their polling units to the APC.

Fayose, it was rumoured, was abandoned because of his alleged romance of the APC presidential flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He was also accused to have personally imposed the governorship candidate on the party with little or no regard for the national leadership of the Party.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC declared the candidate of the Party, Biodun Oyebanji, the winner of the governorship election, having polled 187,057 votes to defeat others.

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

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.”

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”.

Supporters of the APC erupted in jubilation in the early hours of Sunday when the result was announced by INEC.

In Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, residents trooped to the streets to celebrate the victory while other governors were noticed at the Government House in the Oke Ayoba area of the town monitoring the exercise.

In Ikogosi-Ekiti, Ekiti West Local Government Area, where Oyebanji, a former Secretary to the State Government, hails from, residents also began celebrating the victory of their kinsman at the poll.

Also in Ikere-Ekiti, where Oyebanji’s running mate, Mrs Monitade Afuye, hails from, residents also began celebration as the results were announced by the respective local government Returning Officers.

In different parts of the state also, some members of the ruling party celebrated the victory, describing it as well-deserved.

Prior to the announcement of the results at the collation centre, all the results from the 16 local government areas had been uploaded on the Result Viewing Portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, known as IReV.

 

Isolated cases of violence

There were reported isolated cases of violence in some polling units during the election.

In Ekiti South-West Local Government Area, the APC scored 9,679 votes ahead of SDP’s 4,577 and PDP’s 4,474 votes. 

But the Returning Officer for the LGA, Prof Gbolagade Jonathan, reported that there was violence in Units 5 and 7, where he said some hoodlums from nowhere carted away the ballot boxes, after firing gunshots.

Also, in Ikere LGA, the APC also won with 12,086 votes against the PDP and SDP, which scored 3,789 and 1943 respectively.

The Returning Officer, Prof Emmanuel Ajava, announced that votes in Unit 2 of the LGA were cancelled due to violence.

 

Peaceful but characterised by votes buying

Candidates and agents of some political parties had alleged inducement of voters to deprive them of the opportunity of making their free choices.

It was gathered that some party agents were arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged vote-buying at a polling station at Ola Oluwa Grammar School, Ado Ekiti during the election.

In a video clip that has gone viral on social media, the anti-graft agents were seen bursting a building where it was believed to be used for the disbursement of the funds to the voters.