Following his declaration as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election, the re-elected Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, has dedicated his landslide victory to President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
He described the poll outcome as a national endorsement.
Addressing reporters in a press briefing on Sunday, Oyebanji, who ran under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, stated that his achievements over the past four years were made possible by federal policies that freed up vital funds for states.
“As far as I’m concerned, what happened yesterday is the validation of our performance by Ekiti people, but not only Ekiti State. “It is a vote of confidence in the President, because whatever we have done in the last four years in Ekiti State, after God, Mr President takes the glory, because he provides the resources for us to work,” Oyebanji told the press.
The governor emphasised that sub-national governments would remain limited without support from the centre, adding, “Without those reforms that have freed resources to the sub-nationals, there’s no way I would have been able to do all those things that endeared our party to the people.”
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Oyebanji also pointed out that the election broke a long-standing jinx of divisive political rivalry in the state.
“In the history of this state, this is the first time that all former governors will line up behind a political party, behind a candidate. It has never happened,” he said.
“This is the first time that we have run an election campaign for more than three months and no single incident of violence,” he added.
In a separate statement issued on Sunday, Oyebanji expressed being “deeply humbled” by the massive mandate, which saw him sweep all 16 local government areas and claim an estimated 85 per cent of the popular vote.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had earlier declared Oyebanji the winner after he polled 319,224 votes, defeating his closest rivals, Olumayokun Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party, who scored 40,533 votes, and Dare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress, who secured 12,872 votes.
