Over 1m voters to decide next Ekiti governor today

Over one million eligible voters in Ekiti State will today elect a new governor.

Weekend Trust reports that while the state has a total of 1,059,360 registered voters according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), only 1,028,929 who have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are expected to decide the outcome of the election holding across 2,445 polling units in the state’s 16 local government areas.

While 15 political parties have fielded candidates, observers said the contest is expected to be dominated by candidates of major political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Accord Party.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji is flying the APC flag, while Dr Wole Oluyede represents the PDP. Amb Dare Bejide is the ADC candidate while David Opeyemi Falegan is contesting under the Accord Party.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force have assured residents of adequate arrangements to ensure a peaceful, credible and transparent exercise.

Electoral materials, both sensitive and non-sensitive, have been deployed to all the 16 local government areas, with security operatives deployed to escort and safeguard them to polling units.

Security agencies have also beefed up presence across the state, particularly at strategic locations and boundary communities to forestall any breach of peace during the exercise.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere across Ekiti remained calm on the eve of the election, with voters expressing readiness to participate in the exercise.

In Ado-Ekiti, civil society organisations (CSOs) under the EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub have called on INEC to ensure timely distribution of sensitive materials to enable polling units open by 8:00am, as well as proper configuration and testing of BVAS machines to avoid technical disruptions.

The group, led by Dr Akin Akingbulu, Lanre Arogundade, Samson Itodo and other stakeholders, also urged political parties and candidates to adhere strictly to the peace accord and accept election outcomes only through lawful channels.

They further called for an end to vote buying, intimidation and the use of political thugs, while urging security agencies to maintain neutrality and professionalism throughout the process.

“Security agencies should maintain neutrality and professionalism at all times by protecting the electoral process and stakeholders,” the group said.

The CSOs also urged journalists to verify information before publication to curb misinformation, while encouraging voters to turn out en masse and arrive early at polling units to exercise their civic rights.

Earlier, the commissioner of police in charge of election planning, monitoring and evaluation, Mr Abayomi Shogunle, said the police and other security agencies were fully prepared for the exercise.

He explained that a multi-layered security framework approved by Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu had been activated, with personnel deployed to border communities linking Ekiti with Osun and Ondo states to prevent infiltration by criminal elements.

Shogunle warned against any attempt to disrupt the process, adding that security agencies would act strictly within the provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Act 2026.

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