Oyebanji sworn in for second term, first Ekiti governor to win back-to-back terms

Governor Biodun Oyebanji was sworn in for a second four-year term in Ado-Ekiti on Friday, 16 October 2026, becoming the first Ekiti governor to be re-elected and go straight into a second term since the state was created in 1996.

The Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, administered the oath of office to Oyebanji and his deputy, Monisade Afuye, at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion. Vice-President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu.

Why it matters

Ekiti has a long record of one-term governors. The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, told the ceremony it was the first time in the state’s 30-year history that a sitting governor had been re-elected for another term.

Before Oyebanji, Niyi Adebayo (1999–2003) lost his bid for a second term. Ayo Fayose’s first tenure ended with his impeachment in 2006, and his return in 2014 was not consecutive. Segun Oni’s tenure was ended by a court judgment, and Kayode Fayemi lost in 2014 before returning in 2018.

The ceremony also drew much of the ruling party’s leadership three months before the 2027 general elections. Guests included the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo) and Charles Soludo (Anambra), the former Ekiti governors Fayemi, Fayose and Oni, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

What did Oyebanji promise?

In his inaugural address, Oyebanji said his second term would focus on electricity, agriculture, skills, jobs and infrastructure. He acknowledged the rising cost of food, transport and education, and said the term would be judged by whether government spending improved people’s lives.

• Farming: better access to farm inputs, finance, processing, storage and markets, with farm clusters in rural areas.
• Skills and jobs: schools and technical training linked more closely to enterprise and work. “A school must help a child acquire knowledge, confidence, and functional skills,” he said.
• Roads: he said contractors were on site on the Itawure–Aramoko–Igede–Ado-Ekiti road and the Ado–Ijan–Ilumooba–Ijesa-Isu–Ikole road, and that work on the Akure–Ado road was continuing.
• Tourism: “Our hills, springs, landscapes, history and creative traditions are resources we can develop thoughtfully,” he said.
• Everyday services: schools, clinics, safe communities and prompt payment of workers and pensioners.

“I will remain accessible. I will listen. I will welcome honest answers,” Oyebanji said.

What did Tinubu’s message say?

In the President’s message, delivered by Shettima, Tinubu congratulated Oyebanji and urged him to make service to the people of Ekiti his priority over the next four years. “The first mandate may be inspired by promise, but the second is earned,” Shettima said.

What about 2027?

Oyebanji, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), urged Ekiti voters to back Tinubu and Shettima in the presidential election, saying the completion of federal projects in the state was tied to their re-election. “We need them not only to win, but to win BIG in Ekiti,” he said.

Ekiti’s governorship election runs off the national cycle, so Oyebanji’s new term runs to 2030. Under INEC’s timetable, the presidential and National Assembly elections hold on Saturday, 16 January 2027.

What happens next

• A new cabinet: Oyebanji dissolved his State Executive Council on Monday, 12 October, keeping the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Habibat Adubiaro, his Chief of Staff and his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode. New commissioners must be confirmed by the Ekiti State House of Assembly.
• The roads: watch for progress on the road projects he named in his address.
• 16 January 2027: the presidential election, in which Oyebanji has pledged to deliver Ekiti for Tinubu.

Do you live in Ekiti? Tell GistMatrix what you want to see from the second term.