INEC warns against vote buying in Ekiti, unveils 1.05m voters
By Boye Oyeyemi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday said a total of 1,059,360 voters have been registered for the June 20, 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, while warning political parties and actors against vote buying and other electoral offences.
Speaking during the presentation of the voters’ register to political parties in Ado-Ekiti, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the commission was fully prepared to conduct a credible, transparent and peaceful election.
Amupitan said INEC had completed seven out of the nine activities scheduled for the governorship poll, adding that the remaining milestones are the end of campaigns on June 18 and the election proper on June 20.
He described the voters’ register as the foundation of credible elections, noting that the updated list reflected the outcome of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise conducted across the state.
According to him, the number of registered voters rose from about 900,000 recorded during the 2023 general elections to over 1.05 million, while more than 2,000 cases of double registration were detected and removed through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).
The INEC chairman urged political parties to scrutinise the register and report any irregularities, assuring residents that every valid vote would count in the election.
He also warned against vote trading, describing it as a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic process, and called on security agencies and anti-corruption bodies to arrest and prosecute offenders.
Earlier, the Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Bunmi Omosehindemi, said the commission had intensified voter education, security coordination, logistics planning and deployment of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines ahead of the poll, urging stakeholders to ensure a peaceful electoral process.
