Ekiti Decides: Ekiti citizens head to polls today

Citizens of Ekiti State will head to the polls on Saturday to determine which political candidate will assume the office of Governor for the next four years.

Although about 18 political parties have presented candidates for the election, candidates of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Peoples Democratic Party, Ayo Fayose and Labour Party, Opeyemi Bamidele are the top 3 contenders for the position.

The electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will oversee the election process and also supervise the distribution of election materials to different polling units set up in all 16 Local Government Areas.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, on Friday, told Channels Television that INEC had put everything in place to ensure a peaceful, credible and successful election in the State. He further stressed that only voters with the permanent voter’s card would be allowed to vote in the election that has drawn international interest.

He said that accreditation for the election will begin by 8:00am.

There have been massive deployment of security personnel to ensure security of lives and property during and after the election.

Eight thousand policemen and 15,000 personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, are presently in Ekiti to ensure a peaceful conduct of the exercise.

Spokesman for the police, Mr Frank Mba, has told citizens to expect restriction of movement, as it is a strategy to ensure adequate security of lives and property during and after the governorship election.

The Ekiti governorship election is the first big elections before the 2015 general elections which the PDP as well as the opposition, APC, have sworn to emerge victorious.

However, both local and international observers would be on ground to monitor the process.

Thirty election observers from the United States Mission to Nigeria have arrived the State to monitor the election process. In a statement released by the public affairs office on Friday, the US described the election as a very important one in the lives of Ekiti residents.

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Ekiti Decides: Ekiti citizens head to polls today