The Social Democratic Party in Ekiti State and the governing All Progressives Congress have disagreed over the performance of Governor Biodun Oyebanji and expectations from the 2026 governorship election in the state.

The SDP State Chairman, Bamikole Ayodele, said the governor’s dismal performance in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, security, jobs and tourism had made it an easy task for his party to defeat APC in the 2026 election, to rescue the state.

But the state APC Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, dismissed SDP as a party that lacked either the capacity to compete with the governing party or to govern Ekiti people.

He said the people had applauded Oyebanji for his performance in office in all areas and beckoned him to continue in office for another four years.

The Independent National Electoral Commission recently fixed Saturday, June 20, 2026, as the governorship election day in Ekiti State.

Following the announcement, there has been politicking among political parties in the state ahead of the election.

Ayodele, speaking in a chat in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, said, “Governor Oyebanji should desist from playing politics with the resources of the state.

“He is not giving us the best. His election promises are not being fulfilled. Look at the state of infrastructure, there is nothing that can be pointed to as achievements of the present administration in the state.

“We need a person who will bring innovation into this system. The system is not running well in the state under Oyebanji, so we have to do something. Our governor has to do something.

“The governor gets huge allocations and spends them on things that are not necessary. Oyebanji has not done well in the area of agriculture. Ekiti is an agrarian state with fertile land.”

He lamented Oyebanji’s inability to establish farm settlements with all necessary facilities like a good internet network, electricity, good road network, and water where the young graduates could be gainfully employed in each of the 16 local government areas.

“The governor should also brace up in the area of security. The roads and farms should be made safe and devoid of those lurking around for kidnapping and other crimes.

“The government should assure residents that the state is safe for every individual. We should be able to walk freely in any part of the state,” he said

The SDP chairman lamented the unemployment situation in the state, alleging that it was compounded by the governor’s favouritism and nepotism.

“Oyebanji should stop seeing himself as the governor of the APC. He is the governor of Ekiti State, as such, the provision of jobs should not be based on APC,” he added.

But the APC spokesperson, Dipe, dismissed SDP, saying, “As a matter of fact, the governor has done well in all areas, particularly infrastructure, agriculture, security, tourism and job creation. The SDP is in comatose, they are only seeking attention.

“In the area of agriculture, Oyebanji has done well, in the area of tourism, he has done well, in terms of infrastructure, he has done well.

“This is the rainy season, so you would not see people out there doing construction. In the area of infrastructure, go to the hinterlands in Ekiti, and you will see what he has done.”

He listed towns where the governor had facilitated electricity restoration after many years and road construction too.

“The governor has done spectacularly well and people are giving him kudos.

“It is the voice of the people and the voice of the people is the voice of God. If people are attesting to the fact that Mr Governor has done well, we will go with them that he has done well.

“I think the SDP chairman is just trying to look for relevance. He is trying to draw attention to himself. I dare say that SDP is not noticed. They are not in existence as of today.”

He challenged the SDP, saying, “So if they are saying that they will defeat us in 2026 and they have not started in 2025, I think it is a joke taken too far.

“I think they should be ignored. We will not even stretch ourselves regarding the race if it is against SDP, because SDP has no such capacity to compete with us.”