ADO-EKITI — The National Peace Committee (NPC) has raised concerns that rising cases of vote-buying, violence, and insecurity could undermine the credibility of Ekiti State’s governorship election scheduled for June 20, 2026.
The alarm was sounded over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti during a three-day Stakeholders’ Validation Forum organised by the NPC through its secretariat, The Kukah Centre.
Speaking at the event, Senior Programme Manager of The Kukah Centre, Esrom Ajanya, said the forum was convened to promote peaceful and issue-based campaigns ahead of the poll.
According to him, the validation forum, funded by the European Union, aims to strengthen local ownership of electoral risk assessments and develop practical recommendations to prevent election-related violence.
Ajanya explained that the initiative involves monitoring the electoral environment and analysing security dynamics through an Election Security Information Hub. He noted that the hub is designed to produce a detailed context analysis of Ekiti’s political landscape to guide the NPC’s engagement with stakeholders across the electoral value chain.
“As we know, June 20 has been set for the governorship election in Ekiti State, and that is why we are here. The process has involved monitoring the electoral space and examining election-related security issues through what we at The Kukah Centre call the Election Security Information Hub,” he said.
He added that while electoral timelines and milestones set by the electoral management body may indicate procedural compliance, stakeholders must also pay attention to the substance of the process.
“One fundamental issue highlighted by the context analysis is the question of procedural compliance versus political substance. You may tick the boxes to show that processes have been followed, but it is important that beyond compliance, the substance of what is being achieved aligns with democratic standards.
“This includes examining how insecurity could affect the elections and evaluating the level and quality of grassroots participation, especially as we are currently within the campaign period,” Ajanya stated.
