EKITI DECIDES: Ekiti guber poll records large voters’ turnout – Police

…As Police Commissioner denies officers’ involvement in electoral malpractice, vote buying

Abayomi Shogunle, Police Commissioner in Charge of Ekiti State Governorship Election, has said that the Polling Units and Stations across Ekiti State have seen a “significant and sustained turnout of voters” for the 2026 Governorship election.

Speaking to Reporters, Saturday morning, at Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Shogunle said accreditation and voting commenced promptly at 08:30am local time across all the 16 Local Government Areas of the State.

“There is a high turnout of voters, which is quite different from what we have witnessed in some previous elections”, Shogunle said, noting that voters had not merely arrived in a brief rush at dawn, but had continued to stream in throughout the morning.

He attributed the high numbers to a surge in public trust ahead of the polls. “This confirms the findings of our pre-election assessment, during which voters expressed a high level of confidence in the security arrangements.”

The atmosphere across the State was described by authorities as largely peaceful, though the police chief acknowledged that several high-risk “flashpoints” remained a concern.

“Yes, there are flashpoints. There are areas of interest where we have heightened security concerns”, the Police Commissioner confirmed, adding that “adequate resources” had been deployed to those locations to preempt any violence.

The election has however not been entirely free of controversies as some Governorship candiates, particularly Wole Oluyede of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), alleging widespread irregularities and conspiracy, involving INEC and Security Agencies meant to undermine the electoral process.

Besides, when asked on emerging allegations that some Police officers had not been paid their allowances, hence, they engaged in electoral malpractice, the Commissioner issued a firm denial.

“That is not true. I will not accept that allegation”, he said, adding that no formal complaints of electoral fraud had been registered by mid-morning.

“As we speak… we have not received any reports of vote-buying or related incidents,” Shogunle said.