Eyes are on Ekiti State as voters troop out today to vote in a historic governorship election that would shape the course of development in the next four years.
No fewer than 12 opposition candidates are trying to challenge Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who is seeking re-election and positioned to break the second term jinx.
According to analysts, history is on the line, as no incumbent governor has successfully won re-election in Ekiti State since the return to civil rule in 1999.
Two days ago, the candidate of the less visible Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Victor Adetunji, who withdrew from the race, endorsed the governor. Oyebanji’s major rivals are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Wole Oluyede, and Dare Bejide, who is running on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The remaining 11 contenders are not in the race to make any impact, but to merely seek attention. They lack structure and followership, networks and capacity for mobilisation, logistics and resources, and goodwill among the people. Although some of them are highly educated, their weak platforms constitute a setback.
Oyebanji is fortunate to be supported by his four predecessors – Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Ayodele Fayose, Segun Oni and Otunba Niyi Adebayo. It has never happened before in Ekiti that four former governors united to project a single candidate.
Also, for the first time, the social climate is not cloudy. The election is predictable. Tension is not anticipated and inconclusive election is not expected.
Basking in the euphoria of incumbency power, performance record, formidable structure and public goodwill, the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said it would be a total sweep across the 16 local governments.
Echoing him, Ekiti APC Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, in a post before the campaigns officially ended, said the party would target 500,000 votes for a landslide.
He urged party members and the electorate generally to shun violence, saying that the mission to accomplish the figures would die the moment one ballot box is snatched or one voter is hurt.
He said June 20 is about peace and not war, adding that ‘beyond ballots and figures, this election must send one message to Nigeria and the world: Ekiti chooses peace over violence, progress over chaos, performances over promises.
He recalled that the party had led the charge from ward meetings to town halls, from radio jingles to market sensitisation.’
Dipe said: ‘Elections are not warfare. They are conversations; a conversation about whose hand can hold the farmer’s plough steadier, which leader will finish the roads our traders use, pay the salaries our teachers wait for, and complete the hospitals where our mothers seek care. The moment that conversation turns to insults, thuggery, or ballot snatching, Ekiti loses.’
The Publicity Secretary said the ruling party had laid a good example of decorum, urging other parties to follow suit on poll day.
Dipe said APC’s campaign had rested on the pillars of respect for INEC and security agencies, respect for opponents, and respect for voters.
He stressed: ‘We campaigned hard, but we did not campaign dirty because BAO’s record from 2022 to 2026 speaks. There is no name-calling.
‘The akara seller in Efon, the okada rider in Omuo, the teacher in Ikole – they deserve to vote and return home safely. Their safety is greater than any party’s ambition.’
To voters, Dipe said: ‘What does good conduct look like on Saturday? Show up early. Cast your vote. Wait patiently for results. Stop your brother from fighting at the collation centre. Celebrate victory without mocking the defeated. Accept defeat without burning tyres.’
Also to party agents, the Publicity Secretary said: ‘Count votes, don’t count heads.’
The PDP and ADC, which signed the peace accord along with the APC, have reiterated their commitment to peace. They also provoke laughter by insisting that they would displace the ruling party.
According to observers, the rival flagbearers, predictably, would lose their deposit.
Although APC tended to have campaigned on the altar of zoning, it is not an issue in the state. Generally, the homogenous state is one zone, united by history and similarities of culture, tradition and collective quest for survival.
While the three major candidates are politically connected, the people also assess them by their distinct party affiliations. Ekiti does not see any difference between the PDP and African Democratic Congress (ADC) as they have the same opposition root.
Also, Ekiti opposition candidates have not really canvassed alternative programmes that could persuade them to jettison the ruling party. Their manifestos are devoid of depth, logic and clarity, thereby lacking a popular appeal. The feeling is that politicians who cannot put their house in order would prove a disaster in public service.
Two weeks ago, the PDP candidate, while urging the electorate to vote for him, even promised to key into the reforms agenda of the Tinubu administration, a testimony that APC is a good party. The PDP leader, Ayo Fayose, is a co-campaigner for BAO, as Oyebanji is fondly called by admirers.
Dr. Basiru challenged the opposition to dispute whether Ekiti has savoured good governance in the Fountain of Knowledge. He said Oyebanji’s feats are visible and worthy of commendation.
The state capital, Ado-Ekiti, is being given a facelift through urban renewal schemes, particularly the construction of the 18-kilometre Ring Road, equipped with solar street lights. Vice President Kashim Shettima who came to commission the long bridge built by the governor attested to the infrastructural development.
The Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport, has been commissioned, thereby opening the state to global trade, agricultural export, and tourism. Flyovers and overhead bridges in the Ado-Ekiti metropolis are also being constructed to ease urban congestion.
The enhanced rural integration, road networks now connect remote farming communities directly to urban markets, thereby reducing post-harvest losses.
Ekiti is particularly noted for education. Its scholars are its pride. The government has rehabilitated 203 public secondary schools and over 900 public primary schools across the state. Free education has been instituted from primary to secondary levels in public schools. Over 2,000 qualified teachers and non-teaching personnel were to bridge the staffing gap. It is remarkable that subventions to state-owned tertiary institutions have been increased, thus ensuring academic stability and uninterrupted learning.
Oyebanji has raised the capital project allocation from 30% to over 50% of the total budget, and provided grants, vocational training, and loans to thousands of young entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The health sector is defended. Over 177 primary healthcare centers have been rehabilitated and upgraded while mobile health initiatives for rural areas are implemented.
Fundamentally, Ekiti is associated with agriculture. That is why the government has empowered young farmers through the ‘Bring Back the Youths in Agriculture’ scheme. Mechanised tools and funding are provided, in addition to a guaranteed market for produce.
It worths emphasising again that inclusive style of leadership has fostered unprecedented political stability and peace in Ekiti. The governor is accessible, thus making visceral engagement with traditional rulers, labour unions, and civic groups possible in the course of decision-making.
In the last seven and half years, APC has maintained strong dominance over governance in Ekiti, controlling the House of Assembly and the 16 local governments. The uniqueness of today’s poll is that it would also be used by Oyebanji to make the point that the second term jinx can be broken through the people’s consent. For the progressive bloc, it is an opportunity to consolidate power in its stronghold, amid internal fragmentation of the opposition in the state.
Oyebanji is not lonely. He is not abandoned in the time of need. Many APC governors, National Assembly members and top party leaders, community and religious leaders and the elite trooped into the state yesterday to build massive goodwill and solidarity for the homeboy, currently the main issue, and the youngest founding father of Ekiti State.
Never in the history of the 30 year-old state have indigenes and residents been united in a collective decision and consent. Many returned home yesterday to participate in the festival of choice and affirmation that is expected to herald the consolidation of democracy in Ekiti.
It was a work-free day for public servants and a public holiday for primary and secondary schools. The purpose was to enable civil servants and teachers to travel to their respective voting centers ahead of the polls.The exceptions are civil servants who offer essential services, including hospitals and fire station workers.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also started the distribution of sensitive materials, including ballot papers and result sheets-from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Ado-Ekiti to the 16 local government areas.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, reiterated INEC’s commitment to a free and fair poll. The commission confirmed a 97 percent Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection rate across the state. Over 1.05 million registered voters are expected to participate across 2,445 polling units.
Two days ago, INEC began the distribution of sensitive materials to the local governments while security agencies also deployed personnel to the various voting locations.
The commission also ruled out any logistic problems.
A party source hinted that since BAO’s re-election is a foregone conclusion, attention will shift to 2030 as from tomorrow.
A source said: ‘It is true that some people are periscoping into the future, which is also nearer than we imagined. I can sense it; I can imagine the battle of the senators and other key actors and players in the future succession politics.’