Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State has officially emerged as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2026 governorship election, following unanimous adoption through a popular voice vote on Monday.
A total of 885 delegates drawn from 177 electoral wards across 16 local government areas expressed their support for the candidacy of the governor at the affirmation held at the Ekiti State Pavilion (Ekiti Parapo) along New Iyin Road in Ado-Ekiti.
Senate leader Opeyemi Bamidele moved the motion to adopt Oyebanji as the consensus candidate of the party, which was seconded by the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye.
With this development, Oyebanji has become the first sitting governor under the APC banner in Ekiti to secure back-to-back party nominations since the return of democracy in 1999.
Chairman of the APC Confirmation Congress Committee and Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, who supervised the process, said the unanimous decision was a collective agreement within the party, aimed at consolidating the ongoing developmental progress in the state.
Ododo said, “I can inform this gathering that the decision by our great party to adopt Oyebanji is not a result of imposition but a way of allowing the APC government in Ekiti to continue the good works it has been doing and recorded so far.”
Earlier, the National Chairman of the APC, Nentawe Yilawatada, had inaugurated an 11-member consensus committee to oversee the process.
The committee chaired by Governor Ododo and deputized by his Edo State counterpart, Monday Okpebholo, was mandated to confirm Oyebanji as the sole candidate of the party for the 2026 governorship election.
Represented by the Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Chidi Duru, Yilwatada commended the peaceful conduct of the delegates' election held on Saturday and commended Oyebanji's leadership style, which he said has endeared him to the people. He urged party members to maintain unity and decorum before and after the primary.
In his acceptance speech, Oyebanji expressed his deep appreciation to President Bola Tinubu, the APC National Working Committee, the National Assembly Caucus of Ekiti, former Governors Niyi Adebayo and Kayode Fayemi and other stakeholders for their support.
He said, “I accept this honor to fly the flag of our great party in next year's gubernatorial election and I will never take this honor lightly.”
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“This is historic, in the sense that it is the first time that a ruling party in power is doing this for one of its governors. Rest assured that this gesture will not go unrequited.
“To my opponents in the race, rest assured that there is neither winner nor loser. We are in the race together, and the party belongs to all of us. Please, let us come together to lift up Ekiti, as I am always ready to embrace all without any separation.
“I submit that all forms of character assassination, cyberbullying and abuse on social media must stop,” he said.
