For the first time in the 30-year history of Ekiti State, a sitting governor will succeed himself.
That is the history that will be made on Friday, October 16, 2026, when Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji takes his oath of office for a second term at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, Ado-Ekiti. Since Ekiti was created on October 1, 1996, and since the return of democracy in 1999, no incumbent governor has ever won re-election to continue in office. Every attempt failed. The jinx held for 27 years.
On June 20, 2026, Governor Oyebanji broke it. And breaking jinxes is not new to him — his entire political career is a catalogue of FIRSTS.
Long before he became governor, Oyebanji scored his first historic first at 27 years old in 1994, when he was appointed Secretary of the Committee for the Creation of Ekiti State, headed by Chief Deji Fasuan. He was the youngest secretary of any state-creation committee in Nigeria, negotiating alongside traditional rulers and frontline leaders for a state that did not yet exist. That early tutelage explains why he understands Ekiti’s founding vision more than anyone. He did not just join Ekiti; Ekiti was literally crafted in his hands.
When democracy returned in 1999, at 32, he became one of the first aides to the first civilian governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo — as Special Assistant, Special Adviser and later Chief of Staff. He would go on to become the first person in Ekiti history to serve as aide under three different administrations — Adebayo (1999-2003) and Fayemi (2010-2014, 2018-2021) — garnering 11 years of public service tutelage before contesting. No governor in Ekiti’s history came to office with that depth of institutional memory, that network of experience, and that patience of learning.
In 2022, he made history again as the first “homeboy” governor — the first governor who did his primary, secondary and university education entirely in Ekiti land (then Ondo State University, now Ekiti State University), a true Ekiti product. He was also the first former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to be elected Governor in Ekiti, resigning in December 2021 to contest when others doubted.
He was the first former Chairman of the Governing Board of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre under the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports (2009-2010) to become governor, and the first Ekiti governor with combined experience as a university lecturer, banker, farmer, policy strategist, and commissioner in five different ministries. He had seen the state from the classroom, the boardroom, the farm and the government house.
Now, as governor, the firsts have multiplied.
He is the first governor to break the 23-year second-term jinx, becoming the first incumbent since 1996 to win re-election back-to-back. While Fayose and Fayemi served two terms, they did so non-consecutively after losing and returning. Oyebanji is the first to defend his seat successfully while in office — a feat that defines political stability.
He did it with another first: the first progressive to win all 16 Local Government Areas and 175 out of 177 wards in a single election — a record 319,224 votes (85.72% of valid votes) against PDP’s 40,543 and ADC’s 12,872, a margin of 278,681 votes. He even won Ikere, the home base of his main opponent. No one has ever achieved that sweep in Ekiti’s democratic history. It was not just victory; it was vindication.
He is the first governor to secure the endorsement of all former governors — Adebayo, Fayose, Oni, and Fayemi — plus artisans, transport unions, traders and students’ unions before an election. The first to make the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport functional, with commercial flights commencing in late 2025, ending 30 years of talk without takeoff.
He is the first to rank Ekiti Number One in BudgIT Fiscal Transparency League, growing IGR from N650 million to over N2 billion monthly — proof that transparency can generate prosperity.
That is why June 20 was not just victory; it was statewide trust earned.
The second proof is the character Oyebanji showed immediately after that landslide. Rather than gloat, he chose peace, a rare commodity in Nigerian politics. Dr. Oluyede had initially filed a petition at the Tribunal. Following the fatherly intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and appeals from eminent Ekiti leaders, he withdrew it, stating politics must not override Ekiti interest. Oyebanji immediately embraced all opponents as brothers and partners in the Ekiti project.
This is his Omoluabi way, and it did not start after the election. Since October 16, 2022, he has lived by being a friend to all and enemy to none. He visited former governors Chief Ayodele Fayose and Chief Segun Oni to seek support. He sat regularly with Aare Afe Babalola, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Mr. Femi Falana, Senator Babafemi Ojudu and countless eminent sons and daughters irrespective of party. That is why Ekiti is peaceful today.
Why did Ekiti make him the first to succeed himself? Because first term delivered proof. On infrastructure, over 500 kilometers of roads completed with 25 more ongoing. On human capital, 203 secondary schools and 900 primary schools renovated, nine general hospitals and over 110 PHCs revamped, thousands of youth empowered through Bring Back Youth in Agriculture and MSME clinics. On security, with 100 operational vehicles to security agencies and sustained investment in Amotekun, Ekiti has remained one of the safest states.
First term was foundation. Second term will be acceleration.
The Governor has been very clear across his thank-you tour: second term will be about value, productivity and commerce. Every kobo will be channelled to projects that make Ekiti people productive. The popular 5-kilometre road per LGA will return. Through RAAMP, the state is targeting 1,500 kilometers of rural roads, with 235 kilometers starting immediately after the rains. There will be deliberate investment in electricity, water supply, and the multi-billion naira Knowledge Zone and Agro-Processing Zones to move Ekiti from a civil service state to a private-sector-led hub.
The structures are built, the airport is ready, the revenue system works, the team knows the terrain, the peace has been made, and the trust has been earned with a historic mandate no governor in Ekiti’s 30-year history has ever enjoyed.
On Friday, October 16, we are not starting over. We are making history again — the first sitting governor to succeed himself is now set to prove that second term is indeed better than the first, because his entire career has been about firsts that benefit Ekiti.
Tomorrow is indeed here.
