The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced its complete operational, technological, and logistical preparedness for the Ekiti State Governorship Election set for Saturday, 20 June 2026.
The Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, is personally overseeing a final pre-election meeting with key stakeholders in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, 11th June 2026.
Amupitan addressed the Ekiti State Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Forum nine days to the election, providing a detailed readiness profile and issuing direct responsibilities to political parties, security agencies, the media, and civil society to ensure a credible electoral process.
The INEC Chairman revealed that the Commission has completed a clean, legally verified Register of Voters, which now includes 1,059,360 registered citizens, an increase from the 2023 figure of 987,647, following the successful addition of 66,664 new registrants during Phases I and II of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, initiative. He also noted that the Automated Biometric Identification System, ABIS, has effectively invalidated 2,103 instances of double registration, thereby enhancing the integrity of the voter roll.
These voters will cast their votes across 16 Local Government Areas, 177 Registration Areas (Wards), and 2,445 Polling Units, with the Commission aiming for all polling units to be activated simultaneously at precisely 8:30 a.m. on Election Day.
Regarding the Commission’s technological infrastructure, Prof. Amupitan confirmed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, will be utilized in all 2,445 Polling Units as the exclusive tool for voter authentication and accreditation. Additionally, all results at the polling level will be transmitted directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, for real-time public verification.
“No PVC, No Accreditation, and No Voting,” the Chairman emphasized, adding: “There will be no bypasses, and there will be no exceptions.”
He additionally declared the implementation of assistive technologies, such as Braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses for individuals with albinism and those living with disabilities, emphasizing that equity in electoral access is “a necessity, not an afterthought.”
Regarding the Commission’s security framework, Prof. Amupitan revealed that INEC, in complete collaboration with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), had performed detailed threat mapping throughout the state, pinpointing localized vulnerabilities such as political thuggery and ballot disruption in specific areas. He stated that the EFCC and the ICPC had been engaged to protect all 2,445 Polling Units from the effects of vote-buying and financial inducement.
“We will safeguard the ballot box from both physical violence and fiscal contamination,” he asserted.
In reference to the Peace Accord signed by all 13 competing political parties on 21 May 2026, the Chairman praised party leadership for their public display of democratic civility but issued a stern warning that this gesture must be reflected in actual conduct on the ground.
“An accord holds value only as long as its signatories act in good faith,” Prof. Amupitan remarked. “The Peace Accord should not be regarded as a mere ceremonial formality. Its principles must be deeply internalized and strictly adhered to by your party officials, polling agents, and grassroots supporters.”
The INEC Chairman announced that the Commission had accredited 91 media organizations, deploying a total of 675 journalists from print, broadcast, and new media, along with 98 observer groups consisting of 96 domestic and two international organizations, to oversee every aspect of the electoral process throughout Ekiti State.
He urged members of the press to report with accuracy, fairness, and professional integrity, characterizing their role as constitutional rather than simply logistical.
To accredited observer groups, he charged them to deploy strictly in accordance with Commission guidelines, remain neutral in conduct and appearance throughout the process, and present findings with fidelity to fact, affirming INEC’s full co-operation with every accredited journalist and observer.
Amupitan also placed the Ekiti election within a wider national context, disclosing that the Commission would simultaneously conduct legislative bye-elections on 20 June 2026 across six states: 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 institutional focus,” he assured stakeholders. “The exact same rigorous operational standards, technological safeguards, and stringent security arrangements deployed for the Ekiti Governorship Election will be uniformly applied across these concurrent bye-elections.”
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ekiti State, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, in his remarks, confirmed to the gathering that preparation had reached an advanced stage, with non-sensitive materials already received and being managed in accordance with established procedures. He said sensitive materials would be deployed by the following week, training of election personnel was ongoing, and logistics arrangements were being finalised. He noted that continuous engagement with security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, and the media was being sustained, adding that the Commission had met with the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers earlier in the day.
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.
Ekiti State Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Hon. Adeniji Akinropo Philip, speaking on behalf of all political parties, called for peaceful conduct and constructive inclusivity, urging parties to see themselves as members of a common community rather than rivals in a winner-takes-all contest. He also called on INEC to ensure a level playing field for all participating parties.
Earlier in the day, ahead of the Stakeholders’ Forum, Prof. Amupitan had 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 that engagement, the Chairman disclosed findings from the Commission’s empirical risk mapping, identifying specific local government areas carrying elevated security concerns. Ado-Ekiti, Effon, Ekiti South West, Ikere, Irepodun/Ifelodun, and Oye were flagged as vulnerable to political thuggery, cultism, and attempted ballot disruption, while Emure, Ikole, Ilejemeje, and Moba were marked for heightened security vigilance due to asymmetric threats including kidnapping. He disclosed that 469 polling units had been identified within a critical 500-metre radius of these risk locations, with synchronised inter-agency deployments planned to provide robust protection.
The Chairman called on the royal fathers to use their traditional authority to summon candidates and political actors within their respective domains and remind them that the Peace Accord signed on 21 May 2026 must be respected in every village and ward. He also appealed to the Council to deploy traditional town criers, ward chiefs, and community channels to mobilise subjects for PVC collection and early turnout by 8:30 a.m. on Election Day.
On the menace of vote-buying, Prof. Amupitan appealed directly to the traditional rulers to deploy their platforms against what he described as an ethical contamination of the democratic process.
“The Fountain of Knowledge must lead the nation in demonstrating that electoral choices cannot be purchased,” he told the royal assembly.
He gave the Council his personal assurance that INEC has no candidate in the election, reiterating that the Commission’s only allegiance is to the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and the sovereign will of the Ekiti people.
