Eight hundred and eighty-five accredited delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State have unanimously endorsed Governor Biodun Oyebanji as the party’s candidate for the upcoming governorship election.
The special nomination congress, which took place on Monday at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion in Ado-Ekiti, was a peaceful and well-organized exercise supervised by the Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, who chaired the nomination committee.
The event began early in the morning, with Governor Oyebanji arriving around 10:40 a.m. to a thunderous ovation from excited delegates and party supporters.
In his opening remarks, Governor Ododo emphasized the party’s commitment to upholding all procedural and legal requirements in confirming the consensus candidate. He also invited Mrs. Atinuke Omolayo to officially announce her withdrawal from the contest. Following this, a motion for Oyebanji’s affirmation was moved by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and seconded by the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye.
The motion was put to a voice vote, which drew a resounding and unanimous “yes” from the delegates, officially confirming Governor Oyebanji as the APC’s flagbearer. Governor Ododo later noted that Ekiti was the first state to hold such a special nomination congress.
Prior to the congress, two aspirants had been disqualified for failing to comply with party regulations, while another stepped down voluntarily in favor of the incumbent governor.
In his acceptance speech, Governor Oyebanji expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering support and encouragement. He described his emergence as a reflection of the collective will of APC members across Ekiti State and vowed to continue steering the state toward progress and development.
Marking the historic occasion that positioned him as the first consensus candidate of a ruling party in Ekiti, Oyebanji extended an olive branch to Kayode Ojo, one of the disqualified aspirants, urging him and other stakeholders to unite behind the shared vision of sustaining the state’s growth.
What You Should Know
Governor Biodun Oyebanji has been unanimously endorsed as the APC governorship candidate in Ekiti State following a special nomination congress chaired by Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State.
The affirmation makes Oyebanji the first consensus candidate of a ruling party in Ekiti’s political history.
