Ekiti governorship poll to be used as benchmark for 2027 election credibility – INEC chair
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, on Thursday said the 20 June Ekiti governorship poll would serve as a benchmark for transparency in the 2027 elections.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, on Thursday said the 20 June Ekiti governorship poll would serve as a benchmark for transparency in the 2027 elections.
Mr Amupitan also said the commission has no preferred aspirant or political party in the election, but in solitary alignment with the law and the sovereign will of the Nigerian people.
The INEC boss stated these at the Ekiti State Governorship Election Stakeholders Forum, organised by the commission and held in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
He explained that the logistics plan has been perfected, just as arrangements with the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) are being finalised to ensure a synchronised movement of personnel and materials.
“Our goal is the simultaneous activation of all 2,445 Polling Units at exactly 8:30 a.m. on Election Day. We have audited our previous field cycles, corrected past deployment deficits, and initialised early-morning distribution initiatives. The materials are ready, the ad-hoc staff are trained, and our field staff are moving according to schedule,” he said.
Giving the breakdown of the registered voters for the election, Mr Amupitan said that the total registered voters is 1,059,360, and that 66,664 new registrants were added to the 2023 Registry Baseline of 987,647.
“Statutory Clean-Up: 2,103 double registrations completely invalidated via the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). This clean, legally verified electorate, 1,059, 360 of them, will exercise their franchise across 16 Local Government Areas, spanning 117 Registration Areas (Wards), and precisely 2,445 Polling Units.
“To secure the sanctity of the ballot, the Commission is deploying its full suite of technological safeguards. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be the sole instrument for voter authentication and accreditation.
“Let me re-emphasise that our immutable legal standard is: No PVC, No Accreditation, and No Voting. There will be no bypasses or exceptions. Furthermore, all polling-level results will be uploaded directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to guarantee public transparency.”
On vote buying during the poll, Mr Amupitan said, ” Furthermore, we are partnering closely with the EFCC and the ICPC. Deployed personnel are under strict instructions to keep the immediate perimeter of our 2,445 polling units completely insulated from the corrosive influence of vote-buying and financial inducement. We shall defend the ballot box from physical violence and fiscal contamination alike.”
On the identified flashpoints and areas prone to insecurity, he disclosed that the Commission, working in absolute cohesion with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), has mapped every localised vulnerability — including specific risks related to political thuggery, cultism, and attempted ballot disruption — in known areas of the state.
He added that security forces have been handed precise operational orders to deal decisively with any actor, regardless of status, who seeks to subvert the peace or test our collective resolve.
Mr Amupitan assured that the commission would investigate complaints of intimidation and harassment made by the opposition parties, as well as the inducement of voters to collect PVCs.
