The Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC) and the state’s security agencies say they are prepared for the December 4 Local Government election.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting ahead of the state election on Monday in Ado-Ekiti, retired Justice Babajide Aladejana, chairman of the Commission, assured that the state electoral body was ready for the exercise.
He stated that both sensitive and non-sensitive materials were on the ground and ready to be distributed to the state’s 16 Local Government Areas and 19 Local Council Development Areas.
“The Ekiti SIEC is fully prepared for the exercise, and I want to assure you that all of our materials have arrived,” he said.
According to the chairman, only ten of the 18 registered political parties in Ekiti state were operational, with six of them participating in the election.
Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Redemption Movement (PRM), and Young Progressives Party were the names given by Aladejana (YPP).
In terms of security preparations for the election, the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti state, Mr Tunde Mobayo, warned anyone who had no business being in voting areas to consider staying away.
The Police Commissioner, represented by ACP Patrick Daaor, urged the people of the state to provide SIEC officials and security personnel with the necessary cooperation to ensure a smooth election.
“The relevant security stakeholders recently met and fine-tuned methods of ensuring a smooth operation, and by God’s grace, there will be no breach of law before, during, or after the election.”
“I have long mobilized our officers and men for this exercise, and they have been detailed at strategic locations to ensure law-abiding citizens actively participate in the poll,” he said.
Mr Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), assured residents of the state that his men would be mobilized for the exercise.
He urged the state’s well-meaning citizens to work together to make the exercise a success.
Chairmen of political parties appealed to the commission in their various contributions at the meeting to be honest and allow for a free, fair, credible, and violence-free election.
Government representatives, electoral officers from the 16 local government areas and 19 local council development areas, as well as the chairmen of 12 political parties, were among those who attended the stakeholders meeting.
The last time Ekiti held LG elections was in 2019, when chairmen and councilors were elected for a two-year term.