With just two days to the June 20 governorship election in Ekiti State, security agencies, electoral officials and civil society groups have intensified preparations for what is expected to be one of Nigeria’s most closely watched off-cycle elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission will on Thursday (today) begin the movement of sensitive election materials to the 16 local government areas of the state, while the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has deployed 10,000 personnel and the Nigeria Police Force activated a comprehensive election security framework to safeguard the poll.

The heightened preparations came as the Court of Appeal constituted the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, while the Nigerian Air Force confirmed the successful airlift of sensitive electoral materials to support the election and other by-elections scheduled for the same day.

The developments underscore growing efforts by electoral authorities and security agencies to guarantee a peaceful, transparent and credible election amid heightened political activities across the state.

Ekiti voters are expected to elect a governor from among candidates fielded by 13 political parties contesting the poll across the state’s 16 local government areas, 177 wards and over 2,000 polling units.

The election is widely regarded as a significant political test ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking with The PUNCH on Wednesday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, confirmed that the commission would begin the distribution of sensitive materials to local government areas on Thursday.

The materials include ballot papers, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and voter registers, among other election components required for the conduct of the poll.

Omoseyindemi reiterated the commission’s readiness for the exercise, insisting that all necessary arrangements had been concluded.

“We (INEC) have done most of the things we need to do,” the REC said.

He had earlier assured stakeholders that the commission was fully prepared to conduct a transparent, credible and acceptable election, adding that voting would commence promptly at polling units across the state.

The REC also disclosed that non-sensitive materials had already been distributed ahead of the election.

The movement of sensitive materials marks a crucial stage in the commission’s election timetable and is expected to be closely monitored by political parties, election observers and security agencies.

Sensitive electoral materials

To ensure the timely delivery of the materials, the Nigerian Air Force confirmed that it had successfully airlifted sensitive electoral materials on behalf of INEC.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the operation was conducted between June 15 and 16 following a request by the electoral commission.

According to him, the mission was designed to guarantee the secure and timely transportation of election materials from Abuja to designated locations across the country.

He explained that the operation covered preparations for the Ekiti governorship election as well as senatorial by-elections in Enugu North Senatorial District of Enugu State, Nasarawa North Senatorial District of Nasarawa State and Rivers South-East Senatorial District of Rivers State.

The airlift also supported federal constituency by-elections in Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency of Kano State and Zuru/Shanga Federal Constituency of Kebbi State.

Ejodame stated that the Air Force deployed its strategic airlift assets to transport the materials from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to designated airports.

“Leveraging its strategic airlift capabilities, the NAF transported the sensitive electoral materials from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to designated airports in Enugu, Rivers and Kano States, ensuring that INEC received the materials within the stipulated timeline ahead of the elections,” he said.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, commended personnel involved in the operation.

“The successful airlift underscores the Service’s unwavering commitment to supporting democratic institutions and national development,” Aneke said.

He added that the Air Force remained committed to providing support to civil authorities whenever required.

According to him, the operation further demonstrated the long-standing partnership between the military and INEC in ensuring credible elections.

Election security protocols

As electoral materials arrived in the state, security agencies simultaneously rolled out extensive operational plans aimed at preventing violence and maintaining order before, during and after the election.

The Commissioner of Police in charge of the governorship election, Abayomi Shogunle, has already assumed duty and commenced the implementation of election security protocols approved by the Inspector-General of Police.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti State, Sunday Abutu, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

According to him, the operational measures include intelligence gathering, deployment planning and coordination with other security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security.

Abutu said the police had intensified intelligence mapping to identify and neutralise potential threats, including political violence, cult-related activities, thuggery and misinformation campaigns.

He explained that the police were also implementing plans for the secured movement of electoral materials and personnel engaged by INEC.

“The protocols are towards ensuring adequate provision of security and robust collaboration with sister security agencies and election stakeholders.

“These include intelligence mapping to neutralise political violence, anti-thuggery, anti-cult related activities, counter-misinformation campaigns/initiatives, robust planning for secured movement of electoral materials and staff/persons engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission,” he said.

The police spokesman further stated that a centralised operational framework had been established to coordinate rapid response mechanisms and joint deployments across the state.

According to him, the security architecture is designed to protect polling units, collation centres, electoral personnel, voters, election observers, journalists and critical infrastructure.

Abutu said, “Ekiti State Police Command had put in place a centralised operational framework to coordinate rapid response and joint deployments of security personnel under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to adequately secure all polling units, collation centres, designated facilities for the election, voters, electoral workers, observers/monitors, journalists and critical infrastructures across the state.”

Shogunle also assured residents that officers deployed for election duties had been adequately briefed and would operate strictly within the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

He said security personnel were being strategically positioned in identified flashpoints to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

The police chief called on political actors, community leaders and residents to cooperate with security agencies in ensuring a peaceful electoral process.

He also assured citizens of the commitment of the police to protecting lives and property throughout the election period.

Separately, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Anthony Placid, told The PUNCH that arrangements for police deployment had been concluded.

“Deployment has been done. From June 17th (Wednesday), men will be on the ground.

“To ensure that there is a free, fair and credible election. I can’t give you the figure,” he said.

NSCDC massive deployment

Complementing police efforts, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps announced what it described as a massive deployment of personnel across the state.

In a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commandant of Corps, Babawale Afolabi, the NSCDC said 10,000 officers and men had been mobilised for election duties.

The personnel were drawn from several commands, including Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Kwara, Edo, Ogun and Kogi states, alongside reinforcements from Zones 11 and 6.

The statement read, “As part of its statutory mandate to ensure a peaceful, credible, and violence-free atmosphere during the upcoming Ekiti State Governorship Election, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has ordered the massive deployment of 10,000 officers and men across the state.

“To guarantee total security coverage, personnel have been drawn from various state commands, including Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Kwara, Edo, Ogun, and Kogi, alongside specialized operational reinforcements from Zone 11 and Zone 6.”

Afolabi said the Commandant General had also directed the deployment of elite tactical units to tackle potential threats.

These include the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad, Special Weapons and Tactics Unit, Specialized Female Squad, Mining Marshals, Special Force and Crack Squad as well as the K9 Unit.

“The Commandant General of the NSCDC has also directed the immediate deployment of the Corps’ elite tactical units to neutralise any potential security threats.

“These highly trained squads include: The CG’s Special Intelligence Squad, the Special Weapons and Tactics unit, the Specialized Female Squad, the Mining Marshals, the Special Force and Crack Squad, and the K9 Unit (highly trained specialized dogs for detection and crowd control),” he said.

The Deputy Commandant General in charge of Operations, Ayuba Phillips, was designated to coordinate the exercise on behalf of the Commandant General.

Quoting the NSCDC leadership, Afolabi said, “Our mission in Ekiti State is definitive: to protect the integrity of the democratic process and guarantee the safety of every voter, election official, and citizen.

“We will tolerate no form of electoral violence, thuggery, or disruption. Our specialised squads and tactical forces are fully briefed and strategically positioned to maintain absolute law and order.”

He added that all personnel had been directed to remain professional, neutral and civil while carrying out their responsibilities.

Beyond security preparations, efforts are also being intensified to ensure that the election is inclusive, particularly for persons with disabilities.

CSO deploys 150

TAF Africa, a civil society organisation promoting disability inclusion, announced plans to deploy 150 election observers across the state.

The organisation also said it would deploy 25 sign language interpreters to polling units identified to have voters with hearing impairments.

Speaking during a training programme for election observers in Ado Ekiti, TAF Africa Programmes Manager, Dr Andrew Adaji, said the initiative was aimed at ensuring that persons with disabilities fully participated in the electoral process.

“We are deploying sign language interpreters, about 25 of them. That is the best we can do. We will put them in units where we have persons with hearing impediments or the deaf,” he said.

Adaji disclosed that the observers would be deployed to polling units with the highest concentration of persons with disabilities.

He said the organisation had developed a dedicated election observation application to facilitate real-time monitoring and reporting.

“We are deploying 150 observers. They would be spread across the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State. They will specifically observe the polling units where there are PWDs.

“We have a unique app, the TAF Africa election app, that was designed by us with support from EU-SDGN. Now, the observers will use that app on the field. The app has features that will enable the observers to report what is happening on the field. And once they report, we at the election hub center will get real-time data of what is happening on the field,” he said.

According to him, the primary objective is to ensure that provisions in election guidelines relating to persons with disabilities are fully implemented.

“What we want to achieve is inclusivity. Over time, PWDs have been excluded in so many things.

This time around, we look at the accessibility of the polling unit. We are also looking at if what is in the election guideline as relates to PWDs has been implemented on the field,” he added.

The organisation’s Assistant Programmes Manager, George Anwayi, said the deployment was intended to monitor both participation and availability of assistive devices for voters with disabilities.

Tribunal constituted

Meanwhile, preparations for possible post-election disputes also gathered momentum as the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, constituted the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

The disclosure was made by the Secretary to the Tribunal, Zubairu Nuhu, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“This is to notify the general public that pursuant to the powers conferred on the President, Court of Appeal by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2026, Hon. Justice Monica Dongben-Mensem, has constituted the Governorship Election Tribunal for Ekiti State,” the statement read.

The statement further disclosed that the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, had approved the use of the National Industrial Court premises in Ado Ekiti as the tribunal venue.

The tribunal is expected to entertain petitions that may arise from the outcome of Saturday’s election.

The governorship contest has generated significant political interest, with over one million registered voters expected to decide the state’s next governor.

Though more than a dozen political parties are participating, political observers believe the race has effectively narrowed to a three-way contest involving the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji of the APC, Dr Wole Oluyede of the PDP and Dare Bejide of the ADC.

The candidates have spent weeks traversing communities across the state’s 16 local government areas and 177 wards, canvassing support and presenting competing visions for the future of Ekiti.

For INEC, security agencies and election stakeholders, the immediate priority remains ensuring that the election is conducted peacefully, transparently and credibly.

With sensitive materials now in place, security personnel on the ground and election officials finalising logistics, attention is shifting to Saturday when voters across the Fountain of Knowledge will head to the polls in a contest expected to reverberate beyond Ekiti’s borders and shape political calculations ahead of 2027.

Oyebanji’s state broadcast

Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji on Wednesday gave account of his stewardship in office in the last three and half years, saying that he had delivered on his campaign promises and given the state good governance.

Oyebanji, who is the All Progressives Congress candidate in the June 20 governorship election, is seeking reelection as governor for another four-year term.

He spoke in a statewide broadcast to the people of Ekiti State.

He said, “As we approach the polls, I want to humbly request that you renew the Shared Prosperity Mandate you gave us four years ago by another four years.

“While we are proud of the landmark achievements we have recorded in the last four years, I am very confident that with another four years of your mandate, we will be able to take the socioeconomic plans of our administration to a greater heights.

“Ekiti kete, there is no doubt that we have remained faithful to our social contract with you as expressed in our 2022 manifesto. We are grateful to you for all the accolades and the rains of commendations we have received for our achievements.”

Oyebanji added, “We are more than encouraged by the overwhelming goodwill and support that we have continued to receive across the state. And we are more committed to serving you even better given another mandate.

“Given the solid foundation of economic prosperity we have laid already, a new mandate will witness a higher velocity of development and fast delivery of service.

“With another four years of Shared Prosperity mandate, we will be able to complete all our ongoing projects, entrench policy initiatives, pursue new vision and open new frontiers of development in accordance with our 30 years Development Plan.”

The governor appealed to stakeholders, members of the political parties, election observers and security agencies “to act professionally and conduct themselves with the highest level of decorum and fairness. (The PUNCH)

Update news