Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), has raised curse on any leader who uses all devious means to win election at the expense of the lives of people.
He spoke at an occasion of the signing of a Peace Accord today, May 21, by 13 political parties and their candidates for June 20, 2026 Ekiti State Governorship election.
The signing of the Peace Accord in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, was done in the presence of members of the National Peace Committee (NPC), chaired by former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, (rtd), who was represented by retired General Martin Luther Agwai.
Professor Amupitan said: “leadership won at the expense of human life and public trust is a hollow victory.”
He insisted: “INEC does not look for a particular outcome; we are interested only in a lawful process.”
Professor Amupitan stressed that the Commission had refined its logistics, audited its technological frameworks and strengthened result management pathways to eliminate systemic vulnerabilities.
For the election, he said that the Commission had deployed officials to 16 Local Government Areas, 177 Registration Areas, and 2,445 Polling Units, with 1,059,360 registered voters eligible to cast their ballots.
According to him, the Certified True Copy of the harmonised Voters Register had been presented to the political parties.
The INEC Chairman said that 52,446 NYSC members have been mobilised as ad-hoc staff to man polling units, not only for the Ekiti election but also for the upcoming Osun governorship election and a series of bye-elections in Nasarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Ondo, Kebbi, and Kano states.
Professor Amupitan said that 54 media organisations and 470 accredited journalists have applied to cover the election, with the accreditation portal set to close on Sunday, 7th June 2026.
He added that a total of 98 observer groups, 96 domestic and 2 international, have been accredited to monitor the election.
Speaking on behalf of General Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd), General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) called on all political actors to conduct themselves peacefully and responsibly.
He stressed that no political ambition should be worth the loss of life or the destruction of communal peace. “Election will come and go, but the peace and unity of the state must remain.”
Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, assured stakeholders that the Nigerian Police Force, working with Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), has made comprehensive security arrangements, covering all local governments and over 2,400 polling units across the state.
“The Nigerian Police will remain professional, impartial and fully committed to the protection of democratic values throughout the electoral process.”
The IGP encouraged voters to come out on Election Day and exercise their franchise without fear of intimidation.
The event was witnessed by the Governor of Ekiti State, Chairmen, candidates and running mates of all 13 contesting political parties, traditional rulers, civil society organization representatives, diplomatic corps, religious leaders and members of the media.
