President Bola Tinubu is among several Nigerian leaders who immediately congratulated Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji on his re-election, as announced early Sunday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Others included his immediate predecessor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 319,224 votes, winning in all 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state and defeating 14 other candidates. His closest rival, Mr Wole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 40,543 votes, as announced by the Chief Returning Officer, Prof. (Mrs.) Adenike Oladiji in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
President Tinubu commended the people of Ekiti State for their peaceful and orderly conduct, and for reposing their trust in Governor Oyebanji.
He also commended law enforcement agencies for maintaining law and order.
He charged INEC to continue investing in conducting peaceful, free, fair, and credible elections as we approach the Osun governorship election in August and the general election next year.
With his overwhelming victory in the election, Oyebanji emerged as the first governor in the history of the state to win re-election back-to-back.
President Tinubu noted that the governor’s first term was marked by significant strides in infrastructure, agriculture, youth employment, education, healthcare, and rural development under the BAO agenda.
He said that the renewed mandate is therefore a clear vote of confidence in continuity, stability, and people-centred governance.
The President urged Oyebanji to remain magnanimous in victory and to carry all the people along as he consolidates on his achievements in the next four years.
He also commended all those who contested the election with the governor for exercising their democratic rights, saying it is now time to rally round Oyebanji in the task of taking the state to the next level of governance.
President Tinubu reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to partnering with the the state government to deliver more dividends of democracy and accelerate the Renewed Hope Agenda across Nigeria.
Fayemi, who is also a former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, congratulated Oyebanji on his re-election, describing the victory as a clear endorsement of his administration’s performance by the people of the state.
In a statement on Sunday by his media office, Fayemi said that the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election was a resounding vote of confidence that reflected the high regard in which the people hold his leadership.
‘I join other well-meaning Ekiti citizens and friends of our dear state in congratulating Governor Biodun Oyebanji on his decisive re-election. This victory is a powerful statement by our people that they recognise and appreciate purposeful governance.
‘I commend the people of Ekiti for coming out, once again, to exercise their civic responsibility peacefully’, Fayemi said.
The former governor commended INEC and security agencies for the largely peaceful conduct of the election, and urged the governor not to relent in the task of consolidating the gains already recorded in his first term, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and human capital development.
Fayemi also extended a hand of fellowship to the candidates who contested the election, including those of the PDP, the African Democratic Congress and other political parties, urging them to see the outcome as the verdict of the people.
‘Elections are contests, not wars. I urge the other candidates who contested this election to take the lessons from it in good faith and join hands with Governor Oyebanji in the task of building our state.
‘Ekiti is bigger than any one of us, and it is only by working together, across party lines, that we can give our people the development they deserve and which they have consistently asked for at the polls’, he stated.
He further called on all the people of the state, irrespective of political affiliation, ethnic or religious leaning, to rally round Governor Oyebanji and support his administration in the new term, stressing that the unity and cooperation of the people remain indispensable to the state’s progress.
‘Our state has always thrived when we set aside our political differences and worked together for the common good. I therefore call on all Ekiti sons and daughters, at home and in the diaspora, to continue to support Governor Oyebanji and his administration as he begins this new term, so that together we can sustain the legacy of good governance that our people have come to expect of Ekiti kete‘, Fayemi added.
Sanwo-Olu, who is also the Chairman of the Southwest Governors Forum, praised the state electorate for a peaceful conduct and making the ruling APC their choice party.
In a congratulatory message by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, on Sunday, the governor said that the landslide victory in all the LGAs and an approval rating of 83.54%, is a testament to Oyebanji’s popularity and that of the APC. He therefore tasked the governor with remaining focused and delivering more dividends of democracy to the people.
Sanwo-Olu, who is a member of the Governor Uba Sani-led APC National Campaign Council for the Ekiti State Governorship Election, also praised President Tinubu for providing the right leadership and charting the right direction for Nigeria’s social-economic transformation in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Sanwo-Olu also commended the APC leaders and members at the national, state, local government, and ward levels for working tirelessly in unity for the party’s victory.
He said: ‘I congratulate my dear brother, Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, for emerging victorious in yesterday’s governorship election. I also congratulate his running mate, Mrs. Monisade Afuye, on her re-election.
‘Governor Oyebanji’s victory in the governorship poll with 83.54% of the total votes cast is a reward for performance and outstanding delivery of the dividends of democracy to the people of Ekiti State during his first term.
‘I want to thank the good people of Ekiti State for their unflinching support and continued belief in our great party, the All Progressives Congress. I want to assure you that the ruling party will not disappoint you’.
