The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on traditional rulers in Ekiti State to support efforts aimed at ensuring a peaceful and credible governorship election.
According to INEC, while electoral laws provide the framework for credible polls, lasting peace is rooted in community structures where royal fathers play a key stabilising role.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, made the appeal on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti during a meeting with the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, led by His Royal Majesty, Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole II, as part of the Commission’s second readiness assessment visit to the state ahead of the election.
He assured the traditional institution of INEC’s preparedness for the poll and sought their continued support in safeguarding peace, voter confidence and the overall integrity of the electoral process.
During the engagement, Amupitan disclosed that 1,059,360 voters are registered for the election, including 66,664 new registrants captured during the recent Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
He also noted that the Automated Biometric Identification System had identified and removed 2,103 cases of double registration from the voter register, thereby strengthening its credibility.
According to him, voting will take place across all 16 Local Government Areas, 117 Registration Areas and 2,445 Polling Units in the state.
He explained that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be deployed in all polling units as the sole means of accreditation, reiterating the Commission’s policy of “No PVC, No Accreditation, No Voting.”
Amupitan further assured that election results from each polling unit would be uploaded in real time to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to enhance transparency and public confidence in the process.
On security, he identified areas of concern including political thuggery and ballot disruption risks in Ado-Ekiti, Effon, Ekiti South West, Ikere, Irepodun/Ifelodun and Oye Local Government Areas.
He also highlighted Emure, Ikole, Ilejemeje and Moba as areas requiring heightened vigilance due to kidnapping-related threats, while noting that Ekiti East faces infrastructural security challenges.
He added that 469 polling units located within a 500-metre radius of identified risk areas would receive enhanced security coverage through coordinated deployment of relevant security agencies.