The four-year tenure of Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, will lapse on October 15 next year, following which some interested individuals across parties have started showing interest in the exalted Oke Ayoba Government House.

Supporters of Oyebanji, who is of the All Progressives Congress, are also prompting him to go for a second term in office which has culminated in gale of endorsements of the governor for another four years.

Although campaigns have not officially begun, some individuals are already showing interest or being encouraged to put their hats in the ring for the governorship contest.

Among those believed will battle for the ticket of the governing APC are the incumbent governor Oyebanji; the Governing Chairman of University of Nigerian Nsukka, Kayode Ojo; and an engineer, Adekunle Ogunleye.

Those eyeing the PDP ticket included medical expert, Dr Wole Oluyede; former state Commissioner for Works, Mrs Funmi Ogun; Aviation executive, Peter Obafemi; and ICT expert, Emmanuel Fayose.

Other political parties including Social Democratic Party; African Democratic Congress; Labour Party; who have expressed desire to win the election, also have aspirants jostling for the parties’ tickets.

Recall that 16 political parties fielded candidates in the last governorship election in the state.

The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof, Mahmoud Yakubu, set the ball of political activities rolling for Ekiti and Osun states on May 30, 2025 when he announced the timetable and schedule of activities for governorship elections in the two states.

With Mahmoud’s announcement of June 20, 2026 as Ekiti election date, the reality dawned on many gladiators just as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, at a meeting with the political parties on June 25, 2025 served them notice of the governorship election.

Omoseyindemi said, “This meeting is both symbolic and strategic. It marks the beginning of the electoral process and it also provides an opportunity for early engagement with political parties, the media and other stakeholders on our collective responsibility in ensuring a credible, inclusive and peaceful electoral process.”

The REC, who said the notice “serves as the official kick-off of activities as contained in the timetable and schedule”, reiterated INEC’s commitment to upholding the highest standards of transparency, professionalism and fairness in all the processes.

He said, “We expect that political parties will reciprocate this by adhering strictly to the rules of engagement, particularly in the conduct of their party primaries, submission of candidates and campaigns in accordance with the Electoral Act and the INEC guidelines.”

Omoseyindemi assured Ekiti people of INEC’s commitment to delivering “a free, fair and credible election. We will continue to engage with stakeholders at all levels and keep the channels of communication open as we journey towards 2026”.

However, parties in attendance at the meeting where the Notice of Election was given expressed disappointment that the governing APC and a major opposition party, PDP, were absent at the meeting.

The parties advised INEC to ensure all parties were at such crucial events in further engagements so that everybody would be assured that there was no hidden agenda anywhere.

SDP State Chairman, Bamikole Ayodele, told The PUNCH, “The REC should liaise with the political parties. For instance, at the last meeting we had with INEC where the Notice of Election was given to us, PDP and APC were absent.

“We are going into a major election, there should be good sensitization when we want to have a meeting like that – APC and PDP ought to be at a meeting like that so that we can believe that there is no sinister reason for staying away. INEC should step up in the area of sensitizing political parties”.

However, the PDP State Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dare Adeleke, who said there was no undertone for his party’s absence, said, “Our party was not there because we got information late, but eventually we sent our representatives there and he received all the necessary papers”.

The APC State Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, blamed his party’s absence on mix-up, saying, “INEC representatives were at our office for the invitation to the meeting, but there was a mix-up somehow which made us miss the meeting. There was no sinister reason”.

However, parties in the state are not on the same page as per what constitutes campaign.

While parties accused the APC and PDP of having begun campaigns in violation of the provision of the Electoral Law, the two major parties dismissed the accusations, saying the protesting parties were only finding faults where none existed.

The Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council, Ekiti State, Daramola Owoola, who said it was against the Electoral Law for parties to campaign for now, said, “There are serious accusations against some political parties for campaigning ahead of the time stipulated by law.

“We have written to call INEC’s attention to it because some political parties are not pleased with the development. I think what INEC should do is to write to chairmen of those political parties or all political parties, warning against campaign ahead of time stipulated by law”.

Owoola, who said “disqualification is the maximum penalty”, added, “We don’t want this to affect the relationship among political parties because some are really embittered about it that the major political parties are jumping gun.

“I want to advise that all aspirants try and sheath their swords for now and let the governor concentrate on governance rather than campaign. Even within the ruling party, they should leave the governor alone for now. It is not yet time to campaign and let the governor concentrate more on developmental projects rather than politics,” the IPAC chairman said.

The ADC State Chairman, Dare Adekolu, said that parties had urged INEC “to help us to caution people that are violating the Electoral Law. INEC has frowned at any party that may want to involve in campaign before the official time.

“We see a lot of signposts all over wherein they are saying ‘four plus four’. We lodged the complaint. Even for the PDP, we have seen some posters where some aspirants are a kind of campaigning.

“What we cannot ascertain is whether it is the position of the parties or that some gladiators are trying to promote their principals. They need to be warned,” Adekolu said.

Also the SDP state chairman, Ayodele, said, “We have complained to the REC at a meeting that the APC and the PDP are not going about the 2026 election the way it should be because they have started campaigning. If you want to go for an election, there is guideline stipulating when political parties could start campaigning.

“This issue of APC campaigning for Governor Oyebanji started over five months ago and INEC is yet to lift ban on campaign. This is a threat to democracy. We complained to the REC that it should not be. This is among areas INEC need to look at,” the SDP chairman said.

But the PDP CTC Chairman, Adeleke, exonerated his party but put the blame on APC, saying, “It is the APC that the parties could talk about not the PDP.

“PDP is not campaigning; have they seen billboards, some people are only trying to form a team, that is not campaign. They are not moving round the town or trying to paste posters, all they are doing is forming their teams. That one is allowed, it’s like having family meetings.

“All those parties that are complaining are not on ground. There are only two parties on ground in Ekiti – PDP and APC. Let the other parties that are complaining to go and set up their own teams. What we are doing is within our jurisdiction.”

“What INEC is saying is that you cannot be moving around.

“Nobody is campaigning in our party, it is the APC that is doing that. It is in APC that they are having issues with themselves, we don’t have any issues with ourselves, we are brothers. Virtually all the PDP aspirants are working together and we are really talking to one another” Adeleke said.

Although the APC state spokesperson, Dipe, said there was nothing like campaigns yet in his party, he frowned at Adeleke’s statement, saying, “We might have as well accused PDP too of campaigning before election, but I won’t because we are not naive. We know what campaign is.

“I don’t know who is accusing us and I don’t know what they saw that would have made them come up with such accusation or allegation that we have begun campaign. We have not started campaign in APC.

“If what they saw is adoption or endorsement, I will say that adoption is wish-list. Adoption is not campaign. If I say that I want to support somebody to become senator in 2027, is that campaign? Adopting or endorsing people is not tantamount to campaign.

“I am just adopting you, I am just endorsing you, I am just supporting you, it is a wish list which does not translate to awareness of the voters or election campaign. There is no meaningful party in Ekiti today that has not done that.

“If they are referring to the sitting governor, I have not seen where Governor Oyebanji has come out and start telling people to vote for him. If they see that, they can tell us. All these things are strategies, they are looking for faults and raising alarms where there is none,” Dipe said.

As they are waiting for official commencement of campaigns and conduct of primaries, parties in the state are saying they are ready for the election.

While the APC is looking at retaining its party in power, the opposition parties are strategising to dislodge the ruling party from the Government House.

APC State spokesperson, Dipe, said, “We (APC) are the most prepared party for the 2026 election. We are very ready, whenever the election is conducted, we will come out with landslide victory.

“We believe that we have the uppermost hand and we are the party to beat, we are the party for anybody to aspire to beat in Ekiti today, so we are very ready,” he said.

The PDP CTC chairman, Adeleke, who said that his party was fully on ground in the state, said, “We have at least five aspirants and still counting for the governorship election. That shows that our party is ready for the election”.

The PDP chairman, who described the wrangling in the party as family issue which would be resolved at the right time, said, “They are about positions, they are about the love they have for the party and you cannot tell them not to exhibit their fundamental human rights. We have put in place necessary mechanism to resolve our crises”.

On its part, the SDP, which said it had reviewed and made amends on why it lost in the last election, said it is well prepared and putting all necessary machinery in motion to ensure victory in the 2026 election.

SDP State Chairman, Ayodele, who said the party was already mobilizing and gaining new members and sensitizing at all levels, added, “The peace, unity and organization in our party will make the election of our candidate for the election very easy for us. We are ready”.

Also, the ADC state Chairman, Adekolu, said his party had been harvesting new members from other parties and as well some pressure groups.

Adekolu said, “We are prepared for the 2026 election. We are already improving on our mobilization across all the wards. We are also charging party leaders at the various levels on assiduous and aggressive mobilisation. We are hopeful of victory especially with the new developments in ADC”.

IPAC State Chairman, Owoola, expressing readiness of parties in the state, said, “Most of us are very prepared for the election. At this time, it is still governance, campaign is not yet declared open.

Owoola said, “Most of the political parties are building structures, they are getting members into their political parties.

“Right now, what we are doing is to build our structures, to build our parties, then, if we have aspirants, we take them round the wards and introduce them to the party,” he said.

Ekiti peaceful, calm

With the election coming in less than a year, the state has remained peaceful and calm as attested to by even the opposition parties.

Adekolu of the ADC said, “Everywhere is calm for now and that is our prayer. Nobody is attacking anybody, our prayer is that the tempo should remain because it is when we are living in harmony, when we live in peace with one another that we can govern the state very well.

The ADC chairman who said the party did not have any negative impression of INEC so far, said, “For now, INEC is following the rules. It has rolled out the rules and guidelines”.

Also, Ayodele of the SDP, who corroborated ADC on peace, said, “There is no threat. I am giving that to the administration of Governor Oyebanji. We (SDP) have two members in the state House of Assembly and they are doing well”.

He, however, advised residents, “The election is fast approaching, I want to advise that we should be very watchful, our destiny is in our hands. We should look inward for individuals who have the capacity and what it takes to give us good representation”.

In his charge, the state IPAC chair, Owoola, advised aspirants “not to be too desperate. I also want to charge our people that they should look deep before voting in the primaries, they should vote people of their choice so that they will get the best candidates.

“The 2025 election is not supposed to be business as usual whereby they will just get paid for votes or voting for sympathy. It should be voting for what they really want. Whoever has manifesto that will develop the state is who they should vote for,” he said.

The APC spokesman, Dipe, who lauded Ekiti people for believing in his party, said, “We appreciate the people for giving that trust to us, we have not betrayed it and we will not betray it at any time”.

Dipe, who said that Ekiti elections always determined what would happen at the general elections, said, “INEC is doing its job and very conscious of its reputation. So far, INEC has been following due process and we can only commend the electoral umpire.”

On his part, the PDP CTC chair, Adeleke, advised the present government to be careful, saying, “Democracy is for the people, people will resist any intimidation from government.

“I pray that INEC should live above board. It should prove to the world that it is ready for this election. The orientation where INEC will dance to the tune of the government in power has to change,” he said.