By Samuel Sunday
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Ekiti State has called on stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and deploy targeted voter education interventions to ensure a free, fair, credible, inclusive, and peaceful governorship election.
Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, for Ekiti State, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, made the call during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Ado-Ekiti ahead of the Ekiti governorship election.
Dr. Omoseyindemi stressed the need to ensure voters are well informed, counter misinformation and fake news, promote peaceful participation, and build public trust in the electoral process as the election approaches.
“We must intensify our efforts in publicity, ensuring that key election information reaches rural communities, first-time voters, and hard-to-reach areas across all 16 local government areas,” the REC said.
He emphasized INEC’s commitment to gender equality and inclusivity, stating that democracy can only be truly representative when no group is left behind.
Dr. Omoseyindemi highlighted key Ekiti-specific concerns that must be addressed, including misinformation and politically-motivated narratives, vote-buying tendencies, security concerns in flashpoint areas, and voter apathy in some communities.
The REC reminded stakeholders that their roles in advocacy, community engagement, and information dissemination are critical to the success of the election. He urged civil society organisations, security agencies, and development partners to take ownership of the process and called for deliberate efforts to ensure the full participation of women, Persons with Disabilities, PWDs, youths, and other marginalized groups.
Also speaking, the Ekiti State Director of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mrs. Kemi Akomolede, assured that the agency is working to support the efforts of other stakeholders for a successful election.
The meeting was attended by INEC staff from across the 16 local government areas of the state.
