Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, on Wednesday submitted his nomination form for the 2026 governorship election at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, in an event that turned into a grand display of political solidarity.
Oyebanji, who arrived at the APC headquarters at 2:15 p.m. alongside Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and the state’s first civilian governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, presented his forms to the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, after a brief closed-door meeting.
The governor’s declaration drew an impressive lineup of political leaders, including four former deputy governors—Chief Paul Alabi, Surveyor Abiodun Aluko, Senator Abiodun Olujimi, and Prof. Modupe Adelabu—as well as all nine serving National Assembly members from Ekiti State.
In a surprising twist, Hon. Bisi Kolawole, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2022 election, led loyalists of former Governor Ayodele Fayose to the APC secretariat in support of Oyebanji’s bid. Members of the State House of Assembly, local government chairmen, labour leaders, youth and women groups, students’ representatives, and the APC Elders’ Forum also joined the show of solidarity.
Addressing the crowd, Oyebanji said the massive turnout reflected a collective determination by Ekiti people to end the state’s history of “one-term governors.”
“Since the creation of Ekiti State, no governor has done two terms at a stretch. Ekiti people have come here today to remove this reproach,” he said.
“The only thing that stands against our development is this come-and-go syndrome, and I have the divine mandate to break this jinx.”
He praised President Bola Tinubu for his support for Ekiti and urged APC leaders to uphold party discipline as the October 27 primary election approaches.
Former Governor Niyi Adebayo described Oyebanji as “a trustworthy and reliable protégé” who had contributed immensely to Ekiti’s growth.
Senate Leader Bamidele assured that the governor would win both the APC primary and the main election, stressing that political structures previously aligned with Fayose, Senator Olujimi, and former Governor Segun Oni were now rallying behind him.
APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Emma Eneukwu, commended Oyebanji’s leadership style, noting that he had transformed the party into a unifying force in the state.
He also pledged that the APC would deliver a transparent, free, and fair primary.
With the broad coalition of support cutting across party lines, Oyebanji’s second-term bid is already shaping up to be a watershed moment in Ekiti’s political history.
