Pursuant to section 178 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered, the Independent National Electoral Commission has held the fourth in the series of off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti State on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Recall that as a result of the 2007 governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi of the then Action Congress of Nigeria decided to seek redress at the election tribunal following the INEC’s declaration of Engineer Segun Oni of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of that poll. After three years of legal fireworks both at the tribunal and the appellate court, the Court of Appeal in Ilorin declared Fayemi as the winner of that disputed election, thereby sacking Oni.
The first off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti State was held in 2014. Others were held in 2018, 2022 and 2026. The off-cycle governorship election actually started in Anambra State in a dispute over the 2003 governorship poll between Dr Chris Ngige of PDP and Mr Peter Obi of the then All Progressives Grand Alliance. Obi won after three years at the tribunal and the Court of Appeal. From then on, the governorship election in Anambra has never been at the same time as other states, as the governor has to spend four years starting from when he is sworn into office. A total of eight states now have their gubernatorial elections at different times from the 28 others. They are Anambra, Ekiti, Edo, Ondo, Osun, Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa.
