The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has stated it is fully ready in terms of operations, technology and logistics for the Ekiti State Governorship Election scheduled for Saturday, 20 June 2026.
The Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN will personally take charge of a final pre-election meeting with critical stakeholders in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, 11th June 2026.
Nine days to the Ekiti State Governorship Election, Amupitan spoke at the Ekiti State Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Forum, giving a detailed readiness profile and assigning direct responsibilities to political parties, security agencies, the media and civil society to ensure a credible electoral process.
The INEC Chairman said the Commission has a clean, legally verified Register of Voters, now with 1,059,360 registered citizens, up from 987,647 in 2023, after the successful addition of 66,664 new registrants during Phases I and II of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, initiative. He also said ABIS has effectively cancelled 2,103 cases of double registration, which has helped improve the integrity of the voter roll.
The voters will be spread across 16 Local Government Areas, 177 Registration Areas (Wards) and 2,445 Polling Units, and the Commission is targeting the simultaneous activation of all polling units at exactly 8:30 a.m. on Election Day.
Prof. Amupitan confirmed that the Commission’s technological infrastructure will use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, in all the 2,445 Polling Units as the only means of authenticating and accrediting voters. Also, all results at the polling level would be sent directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV for public verification in real-time.
“There will be no bypassing, no exceptions,” the Chairman said firmly, “No PVC, No Accreditation, No Voting.
He also announced the introduction of assistive technologies such as Braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses for people with albinism and for those living with disabilities, saying that equity in electoral access is “a necessity, not an afterthought.”
Prof. Amupitan said INEC in full collaboration with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) had carried out detailed threat mapping across the state, identifying localized vulnerabilities such as political thuggery and ballot disruption in some areas. He said all the 2,445 Polling Units have been contacted with the EFCC and the ICPC to protect them from the effect of vote-buying and financial inducement.
“We will defend the ballot box from physical violence and from fiscal contamination,” he said.
The Chairman applauded party leadership for this public display of democratic civility on the Peace Accord signed by all 13 political parties contesting the elections on May 21, 2026, but warned that this gesture must be matched by actual behavior on the ground.
“The value of an accord lies in the good faith of its signatories,” Prof. “Amupitan said. “The Peace Accord is not to be seen as a mere ceremonial formality. Your party officials, your polling agents and your grassroots supporters must commit it to memory and must adhere to its principles.”
“The Commission had accredited 91 media organisations and deployed 675 journalists from print, broadcast and new media, and 98 observer groups from 96 domestic and two international organisations to monitor every aspect of the electoral process in Ekiti State,” INEC Chairman said.
He urged members of the press to report accurately, fairly and with professional integrity, saying their role was constitutional, not merely logistical.
The accredited observer groups were tasked to deploy strictly in accordance with Commission guidelines, to be neutral in conduct and appearance throughout the process, and to present findings with fidelity to fact, while assuring full cooperation with every accredited journalist and observer.
Amupitan contextualised the Ekiti poll within the national picture, revealing that the Commission will also hold bye-elections to the National and State Assemblies on June 20, 2026, in six states, namely: Enugu North, Nasarawa North, Rivers South East and Ondo South Senatorial Districts, Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency in Kano State and Zuru State Constituency in Kebbi State.
“There is no dilution of the institution’s focus,” he assured stakeholders. He said, “The same rigorous operational standards, technological safeguards and stringent security arrangements will be applied for these simultaneous bye-elections as were applied for the Ekiti Governorship Election.
Addressing the gathering, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ekiti State, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said preparations had gone far, with non-sensitive materials already received and handled according to laid-down procedures. Sensitive materials would be deployed by next week, training of election personnel was ongoing and logistics arrangements were being finalized, he said. “We are in constant engagement with security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, traditional institutions and the media,” he said. “Earlier today, the Commission held a meeting with the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers.
The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State, CP Michael Falade, assured the forum that the Nigeria Police Force and all security agencies were fully deployed and would remain professional and impartial in the protection of voters, candidates and electoral officials throughout the process.
Hon. Adeniji Akinropo Philip, Ekiti State Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), in a speech on behalf of all political parties, called for peaceful conduct and constructive inclusivity, urging parties to see themselves as members of a common community and not rivals in a winner-takes-all contest. He also urged INEC to ensure a level playing field for all participating parties.
Earlier today, before the Stakeholders’ Forum, Prof. Amupitan led a strategic consultative meeting with the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, where he presented the Commission’s full readiness profile and formally enlisted the moral and traditional authority of the royal fathers in the cause of peaceful electoral conduct across Ekiti communities.
At the engagement, the Chairman shared findings from the Commission’s empirical risk mapping, highlighting specific local government areas with high security concerns. Ado-Ekiti, Effon, Ekiti South West, Ikere, Irepodun/Ifelodun, and Oye were marked as vulnerable to political thuggery, cultism and attempted ballot disruption, while Emure, Ikole, Ilejemeje, and Moba were identified as requiring heightened security vigilance due to asymmetric threats including kidnapping. He revealed that 469 polling units were identified within a 500-metre critical radius of these risk locations with synchronised inter-agency deployments being planned to provide robust protection.
The Chairman urged the royal fathers to utilize their traditional authority to call on candidates and political actors in their various domains and remind them that the Peace Accord signed on 21 May 2026 must be respected in every village and ward. “ He also called on the Council to engage the services of traditional town criers, ward chiefs and community channels to mobilise subjects to collect their PVCs and turn out early by 8.30 a.m. on Election Day.
On the menace of vote-buying, Prof. Amupitan directly appealed to the traditional rulers to use their platforms to fight what he described as an ethical contamination of the democratic process.
“The Fountain of Knowledge must lead the nation to show that electoral choices cannot be bought,” he told the royal assembly.
He told the Council that he personally assured that INEC has no candidate in the election, adding that the Commission’s only loyalty is to the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the sovereign will of the Ekiti people.
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