Vote-buying, violence threaten Ekiti election credibility— NPC

The National Peace Commission (NPC) has raised concerns that vote-buying and insecurity could undermine the credibility of Ekiti State 2026 governorship election. 

Speaking at a three-day Stakeholders’ Validation Forum held in Ado-Ekiti and organised by the NPC through its secretariat, the Kukah Centre, Senior Programme Manager of the centre, Esrom Ajanya, said the forum was convened to promote peaceful, issue-based electoral processes ahead of the poll.

Ajanya emphasised that the EU-funded validation forum seeks to increase local control over electoral risk assessments and produce actionable steps to curb election violence.

According to him, the process includes monitoring the electoral environment and assessing security dynamics through an election security information hub designed to provide context analysis of the political situation in Ekiti and guide the NPC’s engagement with stakeholders across the electoral value chain.

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He urged security agencies to take proactive steps to tackle interpersonal violence, which he said poses a major threat to democratic participation and accountability in Ekiti State.

Ajanya said following the electoral timetable is important, but factors like security, grassroots involvement, and campaign engagement are just as crucial for a credible election.

“When votes become commodities, policy debates weaken and civic motivation declines. This dynamic is reflected in the trends of turnout,” Ajanya explained.

Also speaking, development consultant and public affairs analyst Jide Ojo cautioned against making real-time electronic transmission of results the primary determinant of electoral outcomes, stressing that manual collation should remain the foundation of the process.

He noted that the Senate had proposed a clause in the Electoral Bill 2026 for presiding officers to transmit polling unit results electronically to INEC’s portal in real-time. 

Ojo said this technology has boosted transparency and INEC has used it since 2020, even before the Electoral Act backed it.

According to him, electronic transmission was introduced to add transparency, particularly at the collation stage, which he described as the weakest link in election result management.

However, Ojo warned against the growing push to make real-time electronic transmission the primary basis for determining election outcomes, citing risks such as hacking and technical failures.

He added that electronic transmission should be used to verify results for parties seeking legal action, while manual collation, backed by polling-unit documents and oversight, remains the basis for final results.