On Saturday, June 18, 2022, the good people of Ekiti state head out to cast their votes for their preferred candidates
The choices of the electorates differ but their voting patterns would be influenced by various factors especially the mandate of the candidates as well as godfatherism influences
So far, the APC and the SDP were leading, but the ruling party floored the two major parties and reclaim the state back
In view of the above assertion, Topnewstv.com.ng compiled major factors that influenced the victory of Abiodun Oyebanji, the winner of the Ekiti state governorship election
The governorship election for the Ekiti state southwest Nigeria was held on Saturday, June 18, 2022.
The winner of the election, Abiodun Oyebanji, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has become the eighth governor of the state since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
The state is one of the few others that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did staggered election- this is the election that did not follow the general election.
APC retains power back in Ekiti state
Biodun Oyebanji, former secretary to the state government (SSG), has been declared the winner of the Ekiti 2022 governorship election.
Kayode Oyebode, returning officer for the election, announced the result in the early hours of Sunday.
Oyebanji secured 187,057 votes, defeating his two closest Oyebanji secured 187,057 votes, defeating his two closest challengers — Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who polled 82,211 votes, and Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 67,457 votes.
The APC candidate was declared the winner of the election at 3:05am.
Oyebode said:
“That Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
No political party continuity in Ekiti
Since the return to civilian rule, record indicates no party has stayed in government back to back in Ekiti state, this is because the state does not experience political continuity.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party and 13 other political parties are battle to produce the next governor of Ekiti State in today’s election. The exercise is scheduled to hold across the 2,445 polling units in the 16 local government areas of the state.
The belief is that voters in the state are involved in the process very well and this is why it is easy for them to change a government that they are not pleased with.
Who is Biodun Oyebanji?
Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji is a public servant, aged 55 years old.
Oyebanji hailed from Ikogosi-Ekiti in Ekiti.
He has served as special assistant (Parliament Affairs) to the Governor of Ekiti state from 8th June 1999-2000 and August 1, 2000 to September 2001.
He also served as chief of staff to the Governor of Ekiti state between September 2001 to May 29, 2003.
Oyebanji worked as commissioner, ministry of budget, economic planning and service delivery, Ekiti state from January 10, 2013 to October 16 2014, and also secretary, Ekiti state government from 16th October 2018 till December 7, 2021.
Factors that influenced victory for APC
A lot of factors influenced the decision-making process of voters during elections and this in turn affects their voting pattern.
Topnewstv.com.ng brings you the factors that caused a major victory for APC candidate, Abiodun Oyebanji;
- INEC requirements
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the umpire, that would declare the winner of the Ekiti state governorship election.
According to INEC, the requirement to declare winners for the presidential and governorship election is the majority of votes cast.
This means the winner must win the one quarter of the votes cast for two-thirds of the states of the federation (for presidential election) or of the LGAs within a state (for governorship election).
According to the electoral umpire, 16 candidates appeared on the ballot, but only one emerged as the winner, the APC candidate, Abiodun Oyebanji. Prior to the announcement of the results at the collation centre, all the results from the 16 local government areas had been uploaded on the Result Viewing Portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, known as IReV.
Topnewstv.com.ng that the commission promised to adopt the electronic transmission of results, even though it would be complemented by manual transmission.
Numbers: How Oyebanji won Ekiti governorship election
The candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Biodun Oyebanji, has been returned as the winner of the Ekiti state governorship election.
Below are the numbers from the election:
APC: 187, 057 (Biodun Oyebanji)
PDP: 67, 457 (Bisi Kolawole)
SDP: 82, 211 (Segun Oni)
Total valid votes: 351, 865
Rejected votes: 8,888
Total votes cast: 360, 753
Total number of registered voters: 989,224
Total number of accredited voters: 363,438
- The governors’ influence (past and present)
The governors that led the state all have their anointed candidate, which to a large extent also boosts the ambition of the candidates in their LGAs and the state at large. In Nigeria’s polity, a sitting governor’s influence is way more powerful than that of a past governor.
This is evident in the case of the ruling APC, the major political party in the state.
Governor Kayode Fayemi’s anointed candidate was the APC candidate, Biodun Oyebanji and from the campaign days, he lend his support to the candidate who is one of the major contenders and a strong force in the polls.
Also, APC governors, top APC chieftains and the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, played a major role in Oyebanji’s victory during the polls.
Former Governor Ayodele Fayose has his own anointed candidate who is Bisi Kolawole, the PDP’s flagbearer, his influence was displayed as he came third in the poll, because Fayose was no longer a sitting governor in the state.
Interestingly, Chief Segun Oni seems to be standing alone, representing himself but loved by the people of the state, he was the SDP candidate and also a major force battling for the number one seat of power in Ekiti state, yet he came second in the poll.
- How the winner emerged (Votes)
To elect the governor of Ekiti state, they used one modified two-round system to.
In other to be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state local government areas.
If no candidates pass this mark, they would do the second round of election which would hold between the top candidates. The candidate to receive a plurality of votes for the highest number of local government areas would win the election.
This being the case, Oyebanji, scaled through this hurdle and became the most ‘sought after’ by the people, during the polls as he clinched the ticket to become the 8th governor of Ekiti state.
- Political parties
The political parties during an election often influenced the choice of voters and their votes as well.
The main party and the ruling party is the All Progressives Congress (APC) headed by Governor Kayode Fayemi and the other strong opposition party is the PDP and the SDP.
The ruling party APC played a pivotal role in the emergence of the winner of the election as it is evident in the votes cast by the electorates.
During the polls, the three major contenders were Biodun Oyebanji, Bisi Kolawole and Chief Segun Oni, but the APC candidate took the lead in most local government areas of the state and eventually merged as the winner.
- Campaign promises
Security and unemployment were among the top matters in the campaign promises of candidates contesting for the office of the governor of the state.
Segun Oni of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP) said the things he did during his tenure would continue if re-elected, education and healthcare would top his main agenda.
He noted that although he won’t say he fared well during his term but he would do much more if given an opportunity again.
PDP, Bisi Kolawole, said his own focus would be agriculture, health, women advancement and economic development would be key areas of his government.
Interestingly, Oyebanji noted that he would continue from where Governor Fayemi stopped and would do much more in areas such as security, education, the state’s economy among others. This however is key in the decision-making process of the electorates, due to the projects embarked upon by Governor Fayemi.
He doesn’t need to say much as they were willing to vote for Oyebanji.
After Oyebanji emerged the winner, highlights of the nights
Meanwhile, supporters of the ruling APC in Ekiti state erupted in jubilation in the early hours of today (Sunday), June 19, when the results of Saturday’s governorship election showed that the candidate of the party, Biodun Oyebanji, trounced the 15 other candidates that partook in the exercise.
Oyebanji, who is the immediate past secretary to the state government, won in 15 out of the 16 Local Government Areas of the state. He polled 187,057 votes.
Topnewstv.com.ng gathered that in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, residents trooped to the streets to celebrate the victory in the dead of the night.
