Ekiti guber poll: NPC engages stakeholders, seeks peaceful election

The National Peace Committee(NPC) has engaged stakeholders in Ekiti State to review and validate findings from its recently conducted electoral context analysis, as part of ongoing efforts to support peaceful, credible and violence-free elections during the June 20 governorship poll.

The event held in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital and tagged ‘Stakeholder Validation Forum’, implemented with funding support from the European Union, brings together a cross-section of electoral stakeholders, including security agencies, political actors, civil society organisations, faith leaders, traditional rulers, media practitioners, and community representatives.

The engagement provides a platform to interrogate key findings from the Context Analysis conducted by the NPC’s Electoral Security Information (ESI) Hub, which examined political dynamics, security trends, institutional preparedness, and socio-economic factors capable of shaping the electoral environment across Ekiti State’s senatorial districts.

Speaking at the forum, the NPC Programme Officer, Asabe Ndahi, emphasised that proactive conflict prevention remains central to safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic processes. 

They noted that the validation process is designed to strengthen stakeholder ownership of the findings while generating practical, locally grounded recommendations for mitigating electoral risks.

According to Asabe, ” elections are not isolated events but processes shaped by underlying political, social, and economic conditions. 

” Understanding these dynamics through data-driven analysis is critical to designing effective early warning and early response mechanisms.”

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Discussions at the forum from resource persons and participants focused on electoral flashpoints, patterns of political competition, misinformation risks, youth mobilisation, and community-level grievances that could escalate tensions if left unaddressed. 

Stakeholders also examined opportunities for strengthening collaboration among institutions responsible for election security and management.

The NPC committee reiterated its commitment to working with electoral authorities, security agencies, and community actors to promote dialogue, preventive engagement, and adherence to peace accords before, during, and after elections.

Participants collectively underscored the importance of responsible political conduct, conflict-sensitive media reporting, and sustained civic education as essential pillars for peaceful polls.

As the electoral cycle progresses, the committee reaffirmed its resolve to deploy evidence-based interventions, stakeholder mediation, and peace advocacy initiatives aimed at ensuring that elections in Ekiti State remain peaceful, credible, and reflective of the will of the people.