Ekiti Governorship Race: Amupitan Says He Is Ready for Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared its complete operational, technological and logistical preparedness for the Ekiti State Governorship Election slated for Saturday, 20 June 2026.

The Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, will personally supervise a final pre-election meeting with key stakeholders in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, 11th June 2026.

Nine days to the Ekiti State Governorship Election, Amupitan addressed the Ekiti State Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Forum, providing 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 revealed that the Commission has a clean, legally verified Register of Voters, currently with 1,059,360 registered citizens, up from 987,647 in 2023, following 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 cancelled 2,103 cases of double registration effectively, which has helped to improve the integrity of the voter roll.

The voters will be distributed across 16 Local Government Areas, 177 Registration Areas (Wards) and 2,445 Polling Units, and the Commission is aiming for the activation of all polling units simultaneously 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 sole means of authenticating and accrediting voters. Also, all results at the polling level would be transmitted directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IReV, for real-time public verification.

“No PVC, No Accreditation, No Voting”, the Chairman said firmly, “There will be no bypasses, no exceptions.

He also announced the introduction of assistive technologies including Braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses for people with albinism and those living with disabilities, underscoring that equity in electoral access is “a necessity, not an afterthought.”

Prof. Amupitan said that INEC in complete collaboration with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) had done detailed threat mapping across the state, identifying localized vulnerabilities such as political thuggery and ballot disruption in some areas. He said that the EFCC and the ICPC have been contacted to protect all the 2,445 Polling Units from the effect of vote-buying and financial inducement.

“We will defend the ballot box from physical violence and from fiscal contamination,” he declared.

On the Peace Accord signed by all the 13 political parties contesting the elections on 21 May 2026, the Chairman applauded party leadership for this public show of democratic civility but cautioned that this gesture must be reciprocated by actual behaviour on the ground.

“An accord is only as good as its signatories’ good faith,” Prof. “Amupitan said. “The Peace Accord is not to be viewed as a mere ceremonial formality. Your party officials, your polling agents and your grassroots supporters must learn it by heart and must strictly follow 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 with accuracy, fairness and professional integrity, saying their role was constitutional, not just logistical.

The accredited observer groups were charged to deploy strictly in line with Commission guidelines, remain neutral in conduct and appearance throughout the process, and present findings with fidelity to fact, while assuring full cooperation with every accredited journalist and observer.

Amupitan also placed the Ekiti election in the broader national context, disclosing that the Commission would also conduct legislative bye-elections on 20 June 2026 in 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 the institution’s focus,” he assured stakeholders. “The same rigorous operational standards, technological safeguards and stringent security arrangements will be used for these concurrent bye-elections as they were for the Ekiti Governorship Election,” he said.

Speaking, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ekiti State, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, assured the gathering that preparation had gone far, with non-sensitive materials already received and managed in line with established procedures. He said sensitive materials would be deployed by next week, training of election personnel was ongoing and logistics arrangements were being finalized. “We are keeping 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, the 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 appealed to INEC to give all parties a level playing field.

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, pointing to 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 disclosed that 469 polling units had been identified within a 500-metre critical radius of these risk locations with synchronised inter-agency deployments 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 urged the Council to employ the services of traditional town criers, ward chiefs and community channels to mobilise subjects to collect their PVCs and to 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.

He told the royal assembly: “The Fountain of Knowledge must lead the nation to demonstrate that electoral choices cannot be bought.

He assured the Council of his personal assurance that INEC has no candidate in the election, reiterating that the Commission’s only loyalty is to the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the sovereign will of the Ekiti people.