Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have expressed confidence in the commission’s readiness for Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election, assuring election observers and voters that preparations are progressing smoothly.
The officials gave this assurance during a pre-election assessment visit conducted alongside officials of Yiaga Africa in Ikere, Ise-Orun, Oye and Emure Local Government Areas of the state.
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The Ekiti State Electoral INEC Commissioner, Bunmi Omosehindemi, also visited the Ikere council as part of the monitoring exercise.
Ikere, Ise-Orun, Emure
Officials at Ikere, Ise-Orun and Emure have said both sensitive and non-sensitive election materials had already been deployed to their respective local government areas.
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The visits were aimed at assessing the level of preparedness and the status of election logistics ahead of the poll.
At Ikere Local Government Area, the Electoral Officer, Susan Ibikunle, said arrangements for the election were on track.
“We don’t have any challenges. If it rains, we have raincoats; we have distributed them to our polling officers and assistant polling officers. We have 125 polling units. The vehicles are ready to convey our staff. We’ve prepared them for what they will do on Saturday,“ she said.
She also noted that 11 buses have been sent to the registered areas in the council, noting that they did not experience any challenges.
Similar assurances were given by Omobolanle Gbadebo in Emure and Noah Aninkan in Ise-Orun. They said the commission had completed the deployment of election materials and was ready for Saturday’s exercise.
The electoral officers noted that preparations had so far proceeded without major challenges and expressed optimism that the election would be conducted smoothly.
Their comments come as election observers and stakeholders intensified monitoring activities across the state ahead of the governorship poll.
PREMIUM TIMES observed a significant security presence across the three local government areas. Police officers were deployed at strategic locations, while checkpoints had been mounted along major routes.
The deployment is part of broader efforts by security agencies to safeguard election materials, personnel and voters during the exercise. Despite the heightened security presence, the atmosphere in the areas visited remained calm and orderly.
Oye
In Oye local government area, officials were seen sorting and dispatching ballot boxes, voting materials, generators, ad hoc staff and security personnel to various registration area centres and polling units across the council area.
PREMIUM TIMES observed that the movement of materials began early in the day, with officials and security operatives coordinating the distribution to ensure that each ward received its allocation without delay.
Ad hoc staff were also assigned to the various registration area centres, where they are expected to remain overnight before proceeding to their respective polling units on election day.
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Security personnel accompanied each batch of materials as they were moved to different towns and villages within the local government.
According to INEC’s deployment schedule, Oye Local Government Area has 12 registration areas, 191 polling units and nine registration area centres.
The council also has 71,603 registered voters, making it one of the key voting areas in the state.
The local government collation centre will be situated at the INEC office in Oye, where results from polling units are expected to be collated after voting.
Statewide, INEC data shows that Ekiti State has 177 registration areas, 2,445 polling units, 106 registration area centres and 1,059,360 registered voters spread across its 16 local government areas.
With the deployment completed on Friday, officials are expected to finalise arrangements ahead of the opening of polls on Saturday morning.
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