By-elections in Six States: Oyebanji Wins Ekiti Gov. with Landslide as APC Picks Kano, Ondo, Enugu, PDP in Rivers

June 21 () — Governor Biodun Oyebanji was on Saturday re-elected for another term of four years in office after emerging victorious in the governorship election held in Ekiti State. He won the poll with a landslide, polling 319,234 of the votes to defeat his closest rivals of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Olumayokun Oluyede and Ambassador Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress who polled 40, 543 votes and 12, 802 votes, respectively.

According to the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Adenike Temidayo-Oladiji, Mr. Oyebanji Abiodun having satisfied the requirements of the law by polling the highest number of votes was elected. The governor who was the candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, won the election with a wide margin in all the 16 local government areas of the state. Candidates of the other 10 political parties, namely Accord Party, Action Alliance Party, African Action Congress, Action Peoples Party, Action Democratic Party, Allied Peoples Movement, Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Peoples Redemption Party, Young Peoples Party and Zenith Labour Party, failed to make any impact in the election, scoring less than 100 votes in any of the 16 local governments.

The performance of the three main contenders, APC, PDP and ADC, showing the margin of victory and defeat show below” Vote on

The poll, which attracted large voter turn-out in many of the 2,445 wards spread across the local government areas was almost marred by allegations of vote buying and intimidation of voters. Drama unfolded on Saturday at Unit 4, Ward 2 in Ilawe-Ekiti, as supporters of the APC and ADC engaged in a heated confrontation over allegations of vote-buying.

The ADC governorship candidate, Bejide, who voted at the polling unit, alleged that some politicians attempted to distribute money within the area but were intercepted by his supporters. He further alleged that an APC chieftain arrived near the polling unit in a Toyota Jeep with a large sum of cash, allegedly meant for distribution to voters, which triggered tension and later degenerated into a physical confrontation.

gathered that the confrontation led to the injury of one ADC supporter, who sustained a head wound during the fracas and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Bejide alleged that the incident escalated after money reportedly brought into the area was discovered and intercepted, leading to a dispute involving local political actors and security personnel.

“Now you have the sound, the audio, one of them brought money here, they brought it in a sack, but we intercepted her, she called the council chairman and he came here. And in a bid to defend themselves, they kept on saying that some ADC members were also distributing money. But they couldn’t mention anybody. But we know where the money was kept. And in a bid to retrieve the money, she called the council chairman, and that caused a lot of commotion here”, he stated. In his reaction, PDP’s Oluyede, raised concern over the conduct of the election, alleging that the malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) disrupted accreditation at his polling unit.

Oluyede, who voted at Unit 6, Ward 3, Osagburu Family Hall, said the BVAS device failed at the early stage of voting, slowing down accreditation and affecting voter participation. He described the process as deeply flawed, insisting that the BVAS malfunction disenfranchised several voters.

“The electoral process is nonsense. A lot of my people are yet to vote because the BVAS is not functioning properly”, he said, adding that he would formally report the irregularities to the appropriate authorities, while calling on INEC to improve transparency and operational efficiency. Oluyede also alleged harassment of some of his supporters at certain polling units, claiming that security operatives were intimidating voters aligned with his campaign.

“Some of my followers are being harassed at the polling units by security agencies and no media is reporting the incident”, he alleged. The PDP candidate, however, confirmed that he had cast his vote but remained at the polling unit to ensure that his supporters were able to exercise their franchise.

However Governor Oyebanji and his deputy, Chief Monisade Afuye, hailed the electoral umpire, security agencies and voters for conducting themselves in a manner that made the poll the best ever conducted with orderliness, transparency, fairness in the history of the state, Speaking with journalists after casting his vote at Polling Unit 003, Okelele, Ikogosi-Ekiti, in Ekiti West Local Government Area, the Oyebanji said anyone making allegations of voter intimidation and vote buying should provide evidence to support their claims.

Speaking shortly after casting her vote at Atiba/Aafin Ward 1, Polling Unit 003, in Ikere Ekiti at about 8:50 a.m., Afuye said the orderly conduct of voters reflected growing civic awareness and confidence in the electoral process. She noted that reports from across Ekiti indicated strong voter participation across local government areas, describing the turnout as encouraging.

“You can see for yourselves how people trooped out to participate in this election. Not only trooping out, but being ready and anxious to participate in the voting. I am indeed impressed with this conduct of our voters,” she said.

Nonetheless, former presidential aide and one-time Senator, Babafemi Ojudu lamented the failure of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAs at the early hours of voting.

He said, “Before my fingerprints and photograph could be captured, it took some time. If it takes that time to accredit one voter, then one begins to wonder how many hours it will take for 500 people to vote.”

“The turnout is impressive and the people have come out en masse to exercise their civic responsibility. They are peaceful and orderly, as expected. However, the process is cumbersome.”

In its preliminary report on the election the EU-Supported Election Situation Room comprising the International Press Center, IPC, the Centre for Media Society, CEMESO, the Kukah Centre, Albino Foundation, Africa, TAF, Women Group and Yiaga Africa, noted that the election was a general improvement of previous election held in the state. It scored INEC officials 75 per cent for early arrival of materials, 96 per cent for BVAS performance, 69 per cent for voter accreditation but noted inconsistencies in the number of candidates which INEC listed as 14 whereas the Form EC8A provided for 15 names.

“There were no significant disruptions except isolated cases of violence and well-organised vote buying and intimidation in nine local government areas and 24 incidents of violence which were referred to the security agencies,” Executive Director of IPC , Mr Lanre Arogundade, who read the report, said. The group urged INEC to fix malfunctioning of BVA; extend voting in polling units to allow voters exercise their franchise; direct electoral officers to upload results to the result portal of the Commission as soon as voting was concluded and the police to arrest those found engaging in vote buying.

On the same Saturday, the Commission conducted by-elections in six states across the country. The election was to fill vacancies in four senatorial constituencies in Enugu, Nasarawa, Ondo and Rivers states, while a House of Representative election was conducted in Kano and a state assembly poll was held in Kebbi State. The Enugu poll was to fill the vacancy created by the death of

In Nasarawa State, four parties participated in the poll. They were the LP, the PDP, the APC and the NNPP which slugged it out at the Nasarawa North Senatorial District to fill a seat left vacant as a result of the death of Senator Godiya Akwashiki.

In Enugu state, the Enugu North Senatorial seat left vacant as a result of the death of Senator Okey Ezea of the Labour Party. The APC, Boot Party and the PDP contested the poll.

In Rivers state, the candidates of the Action Alliance, AA, All APC, LP, PDP contested the Rivers South Senatorial seat vacated by late Senator Barinda Mpigi who was elected on the platform of the PDP. In Ondo state, four political parties- Action Peoples Party, APP), APC, Allied Peoples Movement, APM, (BP) contested for the Ondo South Senatorial seat vacated by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim who was recently appointed Ambassador to the United Nations by President Bola Tinubu.

The APC, APM and LP took to the political turf for the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency of Kano State for the House of Representatives seat vacated by Hon. Mohammed Hassan, who died recently. He was elected on the platform of the NNPP but defected to the ADC before he died.

In Kebbi State, the State Constituency seat vacated by former Speaker of the Kebbi House of Assembly, Mohammed Usman Zuru, who died recently, will be contested by the All Progressives Congress and Labour Party. The two parties have already been cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the election.

Except in Kano and Kebbi States where voting was smooth and free of violence, voting in Enugu, Rivers and Nasarawa was almost marred by BVAS malfunctioning. In Akwanga in Nasarawa state, voting had to be halted until 5:pm because of BVAs malfunction in many wards. In Gokana LG of Rivers State voters in many wards were stranded for hours, loitering about, determined but unable to vote.

As at press time, the poll in Ondo, Rivers and Kano had been concluded and declared by INEC. According to the Commission, Shuaibu of the APC won the election in Kano, polling 35,356 votes to defeat his two other rivals, Haruna of the APM who polled 268 votes and Abubakar of the LP who got 98 votes.

In Ondo state, APC further strengthened its political dominance in Ondo State after its candidate, Professor Dayo Faduyile, secured a decisive victory in Saturday’s Ondo South Senatorial District bye-election, defeating candidates of opposition parties by a wide margin across the district’s six local government areas. The INEC officially declared Faduyile winner on Sunday after the collation of results at the election centre in Okitipupa, headquarters of Okitipupa Local Government Area.

INEC Returning Officer, Professor Gbenga Solomon-Ibileye, Vice Chancellor of Federal University Lokoja, announced that Faduyile polled 68,474 votes to emerge winner of the keenly contested senatorial election. According to the official result announced by INEC, Adeolu Akinwunmi of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) finished in a distant second position after polling 1,411 votes.

Other candidates recorded significantly lower figures, with Adesanya Olaoluwa of the Action People’s Party (APP) scoring 213 votes, while Clement Funso-Nejo of the Boot Party (BP) garnered 70 votes. INEC disclosed that the total number of votes cast during the exercise stood at 70,770, while 602 votes were rejected after collation. Speaking shortly after the declaration of results, Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mutiu Agboke, described the exercise as a critical operational test for future elections, particularly preparations toward the 2027 general elections.

“The results of the election reflected the people’s voice and thank God that all INEC staff who went to the riverine areas came back safely and there was no negative report anywhere,” Agboke said. The bye-election was conducted across six local government areas that make up Ondo South Senatorial District, including Okitipupa Local Government Area, Ilaje Local Government Area, Ese Odo Local Government Area, Irele Local Government Area, Odigbo Local Government Area, and Ile Oluji Oke-Igbo Local Government Area.

In Rivers State, Olaka Nwogu of the Peoples Democratic Party won rhe Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election in Rivers State, following a sweeping victory in Saturday’s poll.

Announcing the official results, INEC said Nwogu secured a total of 47,961 votes, defeating candidates of other participating political parties by a wide margin across the seven local government areas that make up the senatorial district.

According to the final tally released by the electoral body, the PDP candidate polled 47,961 votes to emerge victorious, while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) garnered 1,647 votes. The Action Alliance (AA) came third with 1,175 votes, while the Labour Party (LP) finished with 367 votes. The former member of the House of Representatives contested the election on the platform of the PDP and is widely regarded as a key figure within the political structure aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

reports that all four political parties that participated in the election — PDP, APC, AA and LP, are part of what has become known in Rivers political circles as Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition,” a broad alliance of political interests believed to be working in concert in the state.

Sources within the coalition had earlier indicated that the alliance collectively settled on Senator-elect Olaka Nwogu as its preferred candidate ahead of the election, a development that significantly shaped the dynamics of the contest and contributed to his overwhelming performance at the polls.

The by-election was conducted to fill the vacancy created by the death of former senator representing the district, Barry Mpigi, who passed away in February, necessitating a fresh election to determine his successor in the upper legislative chamber.

Nwogu’s emergence is expected to further strengthen the influence of the Wike-backed political bloc in Rivers State. While the results of the by-elections are still being awaited Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State and Chairman of the APC Governorship Election Committee has passed a verdict on the polls.

“This election will be a referendum on the works of President Tinubu and the performance of the Oyebanji government in Ekiti state,” he told journalists during the election monitoring exercise in Ekiti State on Saturday.

***Amos Esele with Felix Ifijeh in Port Harcourt, Abdullahi Yusuf in Kano