With less than 24 hours to the off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti state, the Police have warned against vote trading, stressing that the law will take its course against those caught in the act.
The Police also assured that the security approach for the election will ensure it is violence-free and concluded without any serious security breaches.
This comes as political parties, their candidates and loyalists were seen making a last-minute push and preparing for the Saturday poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has cleared no fewer than 14 registered political parties’ governorship candidates) to contest and participate in the election.
The political parties that made the INEC final lists are: The Accord, AAC, ADC, ADP, APC, APM, APP, LP, NNPP, PRP, PDP, YPP and ZLP.
INEC had disclosed that a total of 1,028,929 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) had been collected across Ekiti State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, representing 97.1 per cent of registered voters and a slight increase from the figures recorded in 2023.
According to the Commission, the number of registered voters in Ekiti increased from 987,647 recorded in 2023 to 1,059,360 in 2026 following the suspension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise on 15 May and the subsequent clean-up of the voters’ register.
On the security arrangements, the Commissioner for the Ekiti State Governorship Election, CP Abayomi Shogunle, said adequate measures have been put in place to secure and protect all those involved in the election.
He stated this during an interactive session with journalists convened by the International Press Centre (IPC) in Ado-Ekiti yesterday.
Shogunle said the Inspector General of Police, Mr Tunji Disu, had approved an operational order that states the Police’s mission, what to do, and how to go about it.
On vote-buying and trading, he said voters are being educated and enlightened against it, as provided for in the 2026 Electoral Act, recently signed into law.
“It is now part of the act that the law has stated to be an offence. The issue of vote buying has been clearly defined in the current Electoral Act. If we see anything of the sort, we will do what the law requires.
“We are also having training for police officers who will be involved in this election to implement what they are asked to do. We are going to look out for it. Once we see it, we are going to do what the law requires us to do, which is to arrest and put the affected person to justice,” he said.
Throwing more light on the security arrangement, he said they have identified the peculiarities of various areas of the State.
He added that the operational order for the election is centred on a multi-layered security framework.
“We are putting out a specific deployment to take charge of specific issues, some of which have been raised.
“With the security approach we have on the ground, I am confident that this election will be violence-free and that the election will be concluded without any serious security breach.
“This is because the likely things that might cause security issues have already been taken care of. Looking at events in the last month, there has been like zero incidence recorded,” the Police chief said.
He said this was the outcome of the earlier implementation of the security framework, which started about 1.5 months ago.
Shogunle said the framework will remain on the ground even after the election results are announced.
“These include taking care of all the inlets and outlets from Ekiti state. We are aware of what has been happening in bordering communities in other states like Kwara, Kogi and in fact, nothing much with the borders with Osun and Ondo states”.
He said the Police are also addressing the threat analysis done by different groups here.
“The one we got from the National Peace Commission, which we have worked on, and from the Well Tracking platform, which we are already working on.
“So, we are more proactive with our deployment, because already we know the likely places secure issues will come from, and we are already taking care of that. So, as we speak, we are seeing everything coming into Ekiti State from different roads entering the State, as well as everything going out of the State.
“On why there will be restriction of vehicular movement on the election day until after the voting has been concluded, he said it is to prevent people who have plans to disrupt from moving around. So, whoever wants to vote is expected to trek to the polling unit and return home.
“It is only vehicles you can’t use to move around with alongside bikes, tricycles, trucks, and tipper trucks, but one can actually walk on foot wherever.
“Also within the city, there are strategic locations where police armed teams will be placed. Armed police officers will be deployed to escort non-sensitive election materials to INEC staff in all 16 local government areas of the State. They will stay with them throughout the period of the election and escort them back to the State, the collation centres.”
Regarding misinformation and disinformation, he urged journalists to verify information and videos from relevant authorities before broadcasting or reporting on the election.
“I want to assure that every single polling unit, collation centre, INEC staff, adhoc staff, journalists on ground, observers, critical infrastructures, voters in Ekiti will have more than enough security agents to provide adequate security for them”.
Last lap of campaigns
The PDP and APC had staged their grand finale campaign rallies earlier, while the ADC, considered the third force in the election, held its rally yesterday.
However, other political parties expected to participate in the election didn’t stage such events to rally support for their candidates.
All the parties, as of Wednesday before the end of campaigns, as stipulated by the electoral law, were engaging prospective voters and the electorate moving from house to house to canvass votes for their candidates ahead of the poll.
Members of the ruling APC were seen staging what they called a road show for their flag-bearer and also embarking on outreaches across villages and towns in the State.
The incumbent governor and the APC candidate, Governor Oyebanji, on Wednesday addressed the people of the State in a statewide broadcast ahead of Saturday’s election.
The governor appealed to all stakeholders involved in the conduct of Saturday’s governorship election in the State to ensure peace before, during, and after the election.
He stated that Ekiti, under his watch, has witnessed the most peaceful election in history and urged that Saturday’s election and post-election activities remain peaceful.
Oyebanji particularly tasked members of the political parties, election observers and security agencies to be professional and conduct themselves with the highest level of decorum and fairness.
He said: “As we approach the polls in another hour, I want to humbly request that you renew the Shared Prosperity Mandate you gave us four years ago by another four years.
“While we are proud of the landmark achievements we have recorded in the last four years, I am very confident that with another four years of your mandate, we will be able to take the socio-economic status of our administration to greater heights.
“I want to appeal to all stakeholders, members of the political parties, election observers and security agencies to act professionally and conduct themselves with the highest level of decorum and fairness.
“So far, this current political electioneering has been the most peaceful in the history of our State, and we must do everything to ensure that the election and post-election activities remain peaceful.”