POLITICS
Oyebanji Breaks 30-Year Jinx, Sworn In For Historic Second Term As Ekiti Governor
Oyebanji Breaks 30-Year Jinx, Sworn In For Historic Second Term As Ekiti Governor
Biodun Oyebanji has begun a second term as Ekiti State Governor, becoming the first governor since the state’s creation in 1996 to secure and begin consecutive terms in office.
Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye was also sworn in for another four years after the pair won the June 20, 2026 governorship election with 319,224 votes.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, governors, former governors, traditional rulers and APC leaders attended the inauguration in Ado-Ekiti.
Security was tightened across the state capital, with police and NSCDC personnel deployed around the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion and other strategic locations.
October 16, () – Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, on Friday began a historic second term in office, breaking a 30-year political jinx to become the first governor of the state to secure and commence two consecutive terms since Ekiti was created in 1996.
Oyebanji and his deputy, Monisade Afuye, were sworn in at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti before a capacity crowd of residents, political leaders, governors, traditional rulers and other dignitaries.
The Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Adekanye Ogunmoye, administered the oaths of office to the governor and his deputy.
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Afuye took her oath first, followed by Oyebanji, who was accompanied by his wife and First Lady of the state, Professor Olayemi Oyebanji. The governor subsequently inspected a guard of honour as part of the inauguration ceremony.
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The inauguration formally opened another four-year tenure for the Oyebanji administration and marked an unprecedented milestone in Ekiti’s political history, where successive governors had, until now, been unable to complete two uninterrupted terms.
Oyebanji and Afuye were first elected in 2022 and returned to the electorate four years later for a fresh mandate.
At the June 20, 2026 governorship election, Oyebanji secured 319,224 votes to win re-election, clearing the way for the All Progressives Congress administration to remain in office for another four years.
His second and final consecutive term is expected to run until 2030.
Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu at the ceremony and attended as Special Guest of Honour.
Also at the inauguration were Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin; Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele; Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.
Other governors and prominent political figures at the event included Lagos State Governor and Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo; Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; former Ekiti governors Kayode Fayemi, Segun Oni and Ayo Fayose; former Osun State Governor, Bisi Akande; and former Ogun State Governor, Segun Osoba.
Former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; serving and former members of the National Assembly and other senior government officials were also among the dignitaries.
Traditional rulers were led by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, alongside members of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers.
The Ekiti Parapo Pavilion was filled with residents and supporters of the APC drawn from the state’s 16 local government areas, who gathered to witness the inauguration.
Heavy Security In Ado-Ekiti
Security was significantly tightened in and around the venue ahead of the ceremony, with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps deployed to strategic locations.
Security operatives were stationed at designated points across Ado-Ekiti from early Friday morning, while vehicles entering the inauguration venue were subjected to checks.
The Ekiti State Police Command had earlier assured residents that adequate personnel had been deployed to maintain law and order and guarantee the smooth conduct of the event.
Police spokesperson, Sunday Abutu, urged residents to remain calm and law-abiding throughout the ceremony.
Breaking Ekiti’s Second-Term Jinx
Oyebanji’s inauguration carries particular political significance because of Ekiti State’s turbulent history of governorship succession since its creation from the old Ondo State on October 1, 1996.
Although previous governors had sought re-election or returned to office after interruptions, none had previously crossed directly from a first four-year tenure into an immediate second term.
Niyi Adebayo, who governed the state between 1999 and 2003, lost his re-election bid. Ayo Fayose’s first tenure, which began in 2003, ended following his impeachment in 2006. He later returned as governor in 2014 but his two tenures were not consecutive.
Segun Oni’s tenure was terminated following a court judgment, while Kayode Fayemi, who first governed between 2010 and 2014, lost his immediate re-election bid before returning to office four years later in 2018.
Oyebanji, who succeeded Fayemi in 2022, therefore becomes the first occupant of the Ekiti Government House to win an immediate second mandate and proceed directly into another four-year term since the return to democratic rule.
The milestone also gives the governor a rare opportunity to pursue an eight-year uninterrupted programme in a state whose Politics had for decades been characterised by changes of government and fierce electoral contests..
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