Biodun Oyebanji, former secretary to the state government (SSG) and the Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the just concluded Ekiti State Governorship election, has been declared the winner of the Ekiti governorship election.
This was disclosed by Kayode Oyebode, the returning officer for the election, in the early hours of Sunday.
According to him, the APC won 15 out of the 16 local government areas in the state and polled 187,057 votes.
While the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bisi Kolawole, scored 67,457 votes. Kolawole won his LGA, Efon, where he scored 6,303 to beat APC’s 4,012 and SDP’s 339 votes.
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Reports have it that the supporters of the ruling party in the state and residents trooped to the streets to celebrate the victory in the dead of the night.
Similarly, in Ikogosi-Ekiti, Ekiti West Local Government Area, where Oyebanji hails from, residents also began celebrating the victory of their kinsman at the poll.
Also in Ikere-Ekiti, where Oyebanji’s running mate, Mrs Monitade Afuye, hails from, residents also began celebrating as the results were announced by the respective local government Returning Officers.
Meanwhile, a group of NGOs and media outlets that deployed several election observers have decried the alarming incidents of vote-buying recorded at various polling units at the ongoing election in Ekiti State.
This was revealed in a statement issued by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) in conjunction with ICIR and other media platforms.
According to observations from their election analysis centre, the number of electoral offences observed at various polling units includes bargaining prices for votes, payments made in uncompleted buildings and bags of foodstuff being shared after votes have been cast.